Barolo 2025
Barolo, Italy
Tasted Tuesday, July 1, 2025 - Wednesday, July 9, 2025 by Cabfrancophile with 221 views
Introduction
The notes here follow my itinerary in the Barolo region, starting in Verduno for several days, followed by a longer stay in Monforte d’Alba. To be upfront, most of these notes were written with a day to several day lag. Better late than never, though not as detailed or thorough as typical for me. On the other hand, the wines that were especially memorable are reflected in my notes, if not in strictly organoleptic terms :)
Flight 1 - G.B. Burlotto (10 Notes)
Our visit was hosted by Cristina Alessandria. First, we toured the winery. Fermentation takes place in wood tanks, with fruit from Monvigliero being the only MGA that isn’t destemmed. Pumpovers are utilized to keep the cap wet. Aging takes place in large botte, of the ~35 HL variety. Nebbiolo is never aged in new botte, and Barbera is often used in new oak to condition it prior to aging Nebbiolo. However, they are experimenting with a few ceramic ‘eggs’, with Dolcetto as the subject. Since their cellars are maximized within their property, they are essentially at fixed, full capacity and won’t expand further. Of interest, Cristina used Cru and MGA more or less interchangeably, in large part due to Cru being easily recognized and applied to Barolo sites prior to formalization of MGAs.
Flight 2 - Diego Morra (9 Notes)
Diego Morra's cantina is located at the site of Cascina Mosca, at the foot of the Monvigliero MGA, and bookend by San Lorenzo di Verduno and Breri. Diego Morra is a newer producer, though they have the largest holdings in Monvigliero, with 4 of 11 hectares under their ownership. The three M’s on their label are to recognize Morra, Mosca and Monvigliero. Fermentation takes place in large stainless steel tanks, while aging takes place in large botte. We learned that proprietary ‘fantasy’ names are written above Barolo on the label, while MGAs are below. Additionally, we noted and discussed how the wines are labelled, as they must be traceable to the Cru in order to later qualify to MGA requirements, provided yield, chemistry and organoleptic character meets requirements.
Flight 4 - Fratelli Alessandria (7 Notes)
Fratelli Alessandria is one of the oldest producers in Verduno and Barolo more broadly, with the old bottles and cellar funk to prove it. The estate sits on the eastern edge overlooking Monvigliero and San Lorenzo di Verduno. Like most traditional estates, aging takes place in large botte. Ludovica, who led the tour and tasting, highlighted that the oval casks were designed explicitly to take advantage of the space in the cellar. Interestingly, they have started saving bottles from every vintage only in the last 7 years, which is likely a function of the recent success and growth in popularity of Verduno.
Flight 5 - Giovanni Manzone (11 Notes)
Mauro Manzone, the proprietor of the rental where we were staying in Monforte d'Alba, hosted our visir to Giovanni Manzone. The estate is located near the top of the Castelletto MGA, with Gramolere located just to the west, with a stunning view of Serralunga across the valley to the west. In a strange coincidence given our starting point in Verduno and ‘blind’ booking in Monforte, Castelletto and Gramolere are the two MGAs from Monforte that Burlotto and Fratelli Alessandria, respectively, produce. Manzone’s cellars are impressive, with a well at one end highlighting the natural retention of water where clay is naturally impermeable. They also have vintages back to the 1960s stored in their cellars. Aging is in large botti, they are certainly a traditional producer, focused on sustainable agriculture. Tasting across their portfolio, the riservas are well differentiated from MGAs, with the Cento Ani cuvee from 2009 being one of the most distinctive wines we tasted on this trip. I have a few bottles of Manzone Barolo in my cellar, and will certainly be adding more in the future as a focus producer in Monforte.
Flight 6 - G.D. Vajra (6 Notes)
G.D. Vajra is a mid-sized producer, larger than any we visited prior on this trip. All fermentations take place in stainless steel, though the Moscato tanks can be sealed to preserve the carbonation. Mostly botte are used for aging, with some barriques and tonneaux present. It’s a very attractive winery, with stained glass windows in the fermentation room, and a Japanese garden at the center of the cellar, albeit outside in an enclosed space below ground level. As a nice bonus, the tasting was provided using Conterno Sensory glasses, which really elevated the experience.
Flight 7 - Various wines by the glass (4 Notes)
Flight 8 - Mauro Molino (7 Notes)
Mauro Molino, a mid-sized producer in La Morro, just west of Castiglione Falleto near Annunziata, was the first visit of this day. The tour started in the cellars, with an overview of the producer’s recent history, highlighting that the company is now run by brother and sister Matteo and Martina. Their vineyards are situated in La Morra, with Bricco Luciani located adjacent to the cantina. Their approach is definitely “post-modern” or progressive. Their Chardonnay is fermented in ceramic eggs, their ‘classico’ Barolo is raised purely in large botti, the Gallinotto–which is purely from Berri MGA–is a mix of botti and barrique, while their MGAs are 100% barrique aged. The usage of barrique is intentional and well-integrated. Rather than aim for a flashy, earlier drinking style, the MGAs are deeply structured, though show fairly complex aromatics already.
Flight 9 - Paolo Scavino (7 Notes)
The visit to Scavino, hosted by Mattei, was by far the most interesting of our trip to Barolo.
They are very “post-modern” and extremely precise in their approach. Temperature controlled fermentations are focused on short, gentle extraction–no pumpovers are required in their fermenters–but then aging is in large, ‘mature’ botte, followed by transfer to even large botte after the initial phase of wood aging. Lots are fermented separately to enable down-selection from different elevations and exposures within an MGA.
Barriques are used for their Langhe Nebbiolo and Barbera d’Alba Superiore. But they actually condition the barrels first using wine that is sold off in bulk, such that the wines sold under their label also do not see new (first pass) oak. Other producers I visited tended to use their Barbera d’Alba Superiore as the ‘first line of defense’ against new oak . . . . and the results in these Barbera wines were generally not to my taste.
What really caught my attention was the focus on reductive winemaking practices. Even in the largest botte, Scavino placed a desiccant in & plastic bag over the ‘fill cup’ at the top of the botte to prevent oxygen from reaching even the bit of wine exposed at the top. In hindsight, I think this contributed to the Baroli being fairly tight and reductive (on top of the classical structure of 2021). The structure and style was tending towards refined, but the reductive approach in my mind had long-term aging prioritized, over early drinkability.
Scavino has a massive library of their wines, going back to the 70s if not 60s, in various formats. Consistent with their focus on precision, bottles are stored as shiners then labeled with a pristine label when tasted publicly or sold. They think they have perhaps the largest private library of Barolo in the region.
Mattei emphasized the importance of the Nebbiolo d’Alba and ‘classico’ Barolo to the company. These comprise a significant volume, 80k case per vintage between them, if I remember correctly. These are the wines most buyers encounter first, and it is critical to the Scavinos that they represent the quality and style of the family.
Closing
As an epilogue, it's worth highlighting the challenge of tasting young Baroli from a classic, structured vintage. Palate fatigue is factor tasting through more than several Baroli. Given the quality of the producers we visited, it's safe to say that the quality of the wines was excellent. The underperforming wines did stand out, in those few rare cases I encountered them. However, in a lineup of elite wines, the more subtle nuance was harder to discern between wines with vertical structure. In any case, that's why we age Barolo and don't typically pour in lineups in this fashion.
2024 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Langhe Sauvignon Blanc Viridis
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
(7/1/2025)
Start of tasting. Lovely fresh Sauvignon Blanc, tropical fruit balanced by refreshing acidity, mild herbal impression. Long finish, clean with great delicious factor. Bright and high quality.
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2024 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Elatis Vino da Tavola
Italy, Piedmont, Vino da Tavola
(7/1/2025)
Another refreshing wine on a hot day, an aperitivo prior to the Baroli. A very complete rose, mixture of stone fruits and watermelon, refreshing acidity, subtle phenolic grip, concentrated.
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2024 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Verduno Pelaverga
Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Verduno Pelaverga
(7/1/2025)
We spent several days in Verduno for two reasons: Monvigliero and Pelaverga. This was our first experience with this variety, and was a superb introduction. Color of a dark rose, tons of pepper on the nose, also with the herbal/twiggy character I often associate with Gamay. Fresh and easy red fruit and herbs on the palate, round and full bodied but not heavy, long finish. Was the best we tasted, in hindsight. A great chillable red that expresses itself uniquely.
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2023 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Dolcetto d'Alba
Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Dolcetto d'Alba
(7/1/2025)
Produced with 30% whole cluster. Violets and plummy fruit on the nose, elegant impression on the palate, superb balance with additional depth beyond typical for the variety, fine finish. Top level Dolcetto.
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2023 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barbera d'Alba
Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba
(7/1/2025)
The only wine that didn’t really sing at the tasting. Barbera tends to see the most new oak, not just at Burlotto, but for many producers, in order to provide well conditioned barrels for the Baroli. This probably will integrate with age, but felt composed of good components rather than an integral expression.
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2021 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
(7/1/2025)
And now the Barolo flight. Open and lifted, spicy focused on red fruit. Nicely integrated, though structure is evident. Comes across as a relatively friendly, typical Barolo in an elegant vein. Full bodied, long finish.
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2021 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Acclivi
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
(7/1/2025)
A blend of Verduno MGAs, tighter and more structured than the classico, but also broader and more concentrated. Certainly more along the lines of typical Verduno expression, focused on spice and floral characteristics. Noble tannins with a long finish, like all of the Baroli in the lineup.
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2021 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Castelletto
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
(7/1/2025)
From an MGA in Monforte, with S/SE exposure. Tight aromatically, more of a mid-weight expression, again concentrated with Nebbiolo typicity. Long finish, refined tannins, but quite in need of sleep. I’ll update in 10+ years when I open my bottle of this. Raw material and elegance bode well.
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2021 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
(7/1/2025)
God mode wine, that is all there is to say initially. Certainly a bucket list experience as a wine connoisseur. My wife, who views Barolo’s tannins with trepidation, took one taste and was floored. I had to break the bad news that this is a rare (and thus expensive) wine in the States.
Of course, not only is this Monvigliero, but also the only Barolo Burlotto vinifies whole cluster. The aromatics are soaring even at its young age, the integration is already impeccable, the wine swaddles the palate in strawberry, baking spice, fine wine perfume, and all around complexity. The attack, mid palate and finish are all A++. The tannins are polished and noble. Infinity finish.
Probably the best young wine I have ever tasted. Certainly will benefit from age, but the balance has this poised to reach its early window ahead of its MGA peers.
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2021 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Cannubi
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
(7/1/2025)
I have to admit, it was hard to recover focus after the Monvigliero preceding this. More of a classic Barolo style, deep, powerful, broad, oozing with typicity. But not just that, as the concentration, elegance and finish are defining characteristics. Big tannic structure, needs 15 to 20 years, I reckon. Towering and impeccable.
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