Barolo, Bricco Viole, 2016

Lighter and less concentrated than Brunate but making up for that with great energy and spark. A little closed initially but blue and violet-tinged fruit start to reveal themselves with aeration. A wine of stones, wild flowers, fennel and anise with crisp tannins giving the flavours real spring. Firm, saline and wild – a livewire. Bricco Viole is a very fine Barolo vineyard that translates as ‘Top of the Violet Hill’ and is one of highest vineyards in the Barolo commune region, 400–450 metres above sea level. Marco's windy, exposed parcel is blessed with a fair chunk of 50-70-year-old vines. It is a late-ripening vineyard that produces small intense berries. The ageing is the same as for Brunate, 24 months in barriques, with a 25% new oak.