Barolo, Bussia Vigna Fantini, 2021
Viscous and lush, with melting tannins and a broader, more accessible profile than the Ravera, there is a sweetness to the currants and blackberries that make it enjoyable to taste and readier to drink on release. Prapo is south-facing and early to ripen. A small, prestigious Serralunga cru there are just six producers in this site, so it tends to be lesser known.
critic reviews
Here is an intense Nebbiolo that shows all the depth and power of Serralunga d'Alba. The Paolo Scavino 2021 Barolo Prapo is a well-built wine with ample flavor parameters that extend both horizontally and vertically. That wide sweep includes dark fruit, plum, red rose and iron ore. The tannins are a little softer compared to many other expressions from this village, and the wine offers medium-plus richness to close. The Scavino family purchased this 0.7-hectare vineyard in 2008 and planted it in 2010. Nebbiolo vines with loose clusters, low yields and better ripening were chosen for a massal selection. Open clusters are helpful in combating mildew disease. The family noticed that Prapo develops a pretty sense of sweetness and aromatic complexity, and that's why they decided to ferment it separately. However, Prapo is ultimately less extreme compared to some of the other sites in this village.
The 2021 Barolo Prapò is fabulous. It offers up an exotic mix of dark fruit, lavender, graphite, plum and scorched earth, with firm, muscular Serralunga tannins to back it all up. Readers will have to be patient with the 2021. It's a superb wine in the making, but very much a Serralunga Barolo that needs time to blossom.