A pretty remarkable tasting for each of us, I reckon. I invited Justin Lane, Nick Ryan and Marcell Kustos to my place to taste a heap of Barolo/Barbaresco. To warm up we looked at incoming wines we haven’t had before from Sordo; Alta Langa, Timorasso, Verduno Pelaverga and Dolcetto. Is there nothing these guys do poorly?! The main event comprised full sets of upcoming 2020 Sordo Barolo and Cru, and a timely look back at 2019s, a couple 2018s and each of the Sordo 2017 Cru. Why not another look at the ‘21 Barale Barbaresco Serraboella and those wonderfully fragrant and elegant 2020s Barolos – Barolo di Barolo, Castellero, Monrobiolo di Bussia and Bussia? Why not two Marchesi di Gresy Barbaresco Martinengas to finish! Pity one offset the beauty of the other, by being pre-oxed. Very unusual for these guys, otherwise the makers of some of the most fragrant and stylish wines of Barbaresco. 2020 Barbaresco Martinenga was, however, every bit as beautiful as we’d seen recently.

Anyway, and without verballing the others, it’s fair to say the Sordos continue to surprise for their remarkable consistency; not a dud, not a wine we wouldn’t have happily taken off to dins; authentic, low-fi, flawless and transparent, aromatically distinct, with each and every one of them speaking of their patch of dirt.

Hard to split the 2020s, but Monvigliero is frankly awesome, Parussi is a lot of wine and Monprivato is looking imperious. It’s a beautiful, important vintage no doubt.

Of the 2019s, which, of course, look richer, they each maintain their poise and zip under all that plumper fruit. Stars are a brilliant Barolo Classico, a typically classy Monvigliero again and a beautiful Villero. A tie for the others, not a wine you’d leave behind.

A couple of 2018s for comparison - Monprivato and Perno - both drinking very nicely, but definitely more forward than expected. Delicious.

*From left to right: Marcell Kustos, David Ridge, Nick Ryan and Justin Lane.*

Fascinating look again at the 2017s, which I’ve always been keen on. The vintage is being re-evaluated…appreciated, by previously sceptical reviewers, who note these (ie wines from good Barolo makers generally) are now looking far more fresh, balanced and distinctive than expected (from such a hot year). Indeed, these Sordos are a real eye-opener; Monvigliero (yet again), a superb and forceful Ravera, and a bolder-than-usual Rocche di Castiglione lead the pack but leave no one behind. Perno just needs a long breather to really reveal its complexities and Gabutti is actually the finest, the lightest on its feet, we’ve ever seen!

*Barale Barbaresco ‘Serraboella’ 2021 and the 2020 Barolo Collection.*

The Barale wines once again show that red-fruited radiance. Barbaresco Serraboella 2021 is exactly a pre-curser to this great vintage. The 2020 Barolo set is hard to split, but Castellero (my 2024 Wine of the Year) is something special, and Bussia is as important as ever. For lovers of fragrance and elegance of Barolo underpinned by a fine but tougher undercarriage, the beautiful Monrobiolo di Bussia shows why Barale think of this as their flagship. Some of these should be in any good Barolo collection.

Oh and a mystery wine. With options, our lads got pretty close and again, I think I reflect their views accurately, that when (unusually) asked for a point, we were all in the mid-90s on it. I asked for a reason. This, the 2013 Damilano Barolo Cannubi, was the wine dismissed, with a brutal 80-point score, as “…an abomination of a wine that hurts Damilano and the reputation of every other quality-minded producer who makes a Cannubi…” by a certain very famous/influential American reviewer, who has never recanted. He missed a wine that comes from a famous vineyard and a very experienced maker, but in a tight, very tannic vintage. But 80 points?? By the time I had the rest of what I’d coravined, for dinner it was a perfect, maturing essay in Cannubi Barolo, certainly worth a couple more points again.

Now what am I to do with these 30-odd bottles 2/3 full thanks to Coravin and sitting quietly in my wine fridge?

A Remarkable Tasting of Barolo, Barbaresco And More: February 2025

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