Briccolina Barolo 2020

La Briccolina is the product of the Grasso family who have grown grapes here for a century, but only recently started bottling their own wine. They produce a single cuvée, all from the Serralunga d’Alba terroir on the eastern side of the Barolo appellation. The soils are compact marls and sandstone with very high iron content, resulting in firm, mineral-driven wines of real character.

The 2020’s nose is exquisite – cherries and spices explode from the glass with notes of licorice, plum, lavender, cedar and mocha. The mouth is refined and pretty rather than big and tannic – with just half an hour in carafe it opens beautifully into a middleweight, delightful wine with notes of black cherry, iron, saline and dried roses. Vinous’s Antonio Galloni also loved the 2020, awarding 93 points and finding it “soft, fruity and charming, all of which make it a fine choice for drinking now and over the next decade.”