Translucent light ruby, clear edge. Powerful aromas of dark fruit and soil with warm spice joining later. Medium to light bodied. Soil runs through it from beginning to end. Tar, high acidity, and lean, dusty tannins. Surprisingly little fruit. I tried to coax it along, and it did sweeten slightly, but it remained stubbornly tart and dry. Not pleasing at all today and a disappointing first wine.

Similar light ruby color. Forward high green tones, some asphalt, and pretty floral elements. Medium body and slightly rounder than the Trediberri. Once again, the fruit is in the distant background and it is the soil that speaks most loudly. Moderate tannic structure that is dry and powdery with a nice late citric twist. Is this also shut down now? Travel shocked after its journey from Italy? Or just nowhere near as good as it is reputed to be?

Clear ruby. Penetrating, fragrant fennel with more fruit appearing after more time in the glass. Relatively delicate and piquant but certainly not fruit forward. Dryingly tannic finish which reaches the gums. This feels like a Barolo that will become ethereal, and I really liked thar aspect, but as in the 2 other La Morra wines, the fruit and any sense of balancing sweetness were missing in action.

Slightly more saturated center than the wines in the first flight. Ripe cherry, cola, and some wood. Immediately rounder, more textural attack underpinned by excellent acidity and a good vein of earth. Very different from the first 3 wines. Citrus and spice waft up as it aerates, and the acidity gives it vibrance. Very good early complexity. On first taste, the tannins are somewhat rounder and more gentle, but on subsequent visits, they are more grainy, and the wine closes down.

Pale ruby reddish color. Ripe fruit aromas with a dash of green and increasing high tones. Medium weight. Very citric with a very nice mixture of dark fruit and soil with excellent acidity and earthy tannic finish that is not as austere as some of the preceding wines. Restrained, subtle, nicely complex, and very good flow. Excellent potential overall.

Excellent ruby color to the rim. Ripe fruit, tar, and menthol. Medium body. Very pleasing feel with dark fruit that has an extra layer of flesh. Light soil, fine acidity, and youthful, drying tannins that are finer than those in the previous wines. Excellent pas de deux between the fruit and the soil. I thought this had less intensity and length than the Brovia Rocche served right after it. I hasten to add that a bottle served with lunch was rounder, longer, and had more depth of fruit, clearly showing at least excellent material and made me more confident about this wine. Bottle variation or just more air? I don’t know.

A shade lighter color than the Ceretto. Very enticing fruit and baking spices on the nose. Medium body, harmonious, silky feel. Blue and black fruit on the attack, solid but not high acidity, then wet earth and rounder tannins. Discretely sweet, some late tar. Best wine so far in its seamless progression across the palate, balance, and length, and the first wine to give me that “Ahhh, Barolo!” feel. Although it too began to tighten over time it remained lovely and left no doubt about its outstanding pedigree and future.

Medium to lighter ruby. Very perfumed wintergreen. Medium weight, earthy feel, and to me, lower acidity than most of the other wines. Again, dominated by soil and substantial, austere tannins. A bit of tart cherry appeared with vigorous swirling, but mostly I was left scratching my head and asking myself “Where’s the fruit??”. When a gent several chairs down said after the tasting that “Sandrone killed it”, I found it hard to believe that the pours came from the same bottle (they did). Maybe he’s right and the real issue is that I have a very poor excuse for a palate.

Light ruby with fading outer quarter. Translucent. High toned aromas with savory notes of bark and tar. Gorgeous, subtly expressed red fruit and citrus, a unifying, long thread of soil, and gentle, lingering tannins that impart some youthful bitterness but don’t detract from the lovely persistence. Savory and so refined. A terroir wine that has exquisite lightness. Oh man, I’d never tasted a Crichët Pajé before, and now I know what all the fuss is about. Early days for this but easily the wine of the tasting for me-whoops, it wasn’t even a 2019 Barolo!

Medium light ruby. More herbaceous nose, not particularly warm vintage character. Light but some gloss. Straightforward melange of dark fruit and soil. Moderate tannins that are not too gripping or grainy. Pleasant enough, but frankly, simple and undistinguished. More at the level of generic Nebbiolo.

Medium ruby. Backward nose. Medium+ weight. At first, simple, tart fruit, a dash of herbs, moderate acidity and soil, and dry, puckery tannins. However, this quickly unfolded in the glass, showing sweeter blueberry fruit, more texture and tar, and an uplifting squeeze of citrus zest. In fact, of all the wines, this probably exhibited the most rapid, positive transformation in the glass. Net net, I’m left thinking that this could be truly excellent

Medium ruby. Candied fruit and herbs. Medium body. Balanced more toward soil than fruit, especially through the finish. Vibrant acidity and gum coating tannins. Like the Grasso, it too traveled a good distance in the glass; the soil mouth feel became smoother, and it was easier to appreciate its incipient complexity. I could see it turning out to be excellent way down the road if it can fight off those fierce tannins.

Clear medium to light ruby. Notably soaring aromas of sweet fruit and fennel. Poised medium weight. Citrus and chocolatey fruit on the black end of the spectrum, light swirl of soil, and moderate ripe tannins that need to resolve but are not at all dry. So elegant in comparison to the other Serralunga wines, and it steadily got better and better. Lovely and full of joy. Outstanding young wine.

Ruby. High toned green notes and later, orange peel. Medium to light weight, real delicacy. Beautiful rich but not overly ripe red and black fruit, tar, excellent acidity, and a long, soil-filled finish with a touch of youthful austerity. Slightly more sappy than the Massolino. Already soft, dynamic, and well balanced. There is probably more structure lurking, though, and this seems like a wine that is likely to go into a shell for a while. I loved the style and stylishness here, and this underdog managed to beat out some of the bigger names today.

Ruby with a reddish tint. Stately darker, more somber nose with a touch of mint. Medium+ weight. Citrus and dull cherry atop a long, earthy base. The acidity seems average, surely not high. Classic tarry finish with surprisingly gentle, fine tannins on the first few sips. There is more sappiness and weight over time, and the tannin asserts itself and coats the tongue, although there is far less austerity than in many of the other wines today. This seemed to be at the same qualitative level as the excellent 2015 Conterno Cerretta poured the other night. As heretical as this might sound, I preferred the Baudana version, and from a QPR perspective, it is a no brainer in favor of the upstart producer.