Jay Kline

9.2

As someone who has been described as an Italophile, I’m particularly enamored with the wines of Piemonte. You’ve probably all heard the saying, “the more you learn, the less you seem to know”. Yeah, I don’t know that it really makes sense. Yet, it seems to apply more and more these days. This wonderful bottle from Giovanni Rosso was an entire lesson of its own for me.

Okay, so I’ve been enjoying the Barolo’s from Giovanni Rosso for almost a decade now and it was not until this bottle that I realized this is not their “classico” but instead, a blend of their holdings exclusively throughout Serralunga d’Alba. A sort of “super classico” (I just made that up) I guess one could say. Since the mid-1990’s, they have been best known for their Serralunga parcels in Cerretta (Bricco). Later, in 2004, they were the first to release a single-vineyard bottling of the Serra MGA (not to be confused with the La Serra MGA in La Morra 🙄). More recently, they have picked up parcels in other Serralunga MGA’s including Costabella, Sorano, Lirano, Damiano, as well as the up and coming Meriame and their most famous of all, Vignarionda (the only other MGA from which they do a single-vineyard besides the aforementioned Serra and Cerretta). I know…it’s a lot to absorb. Let’s just get to the notes.

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2019 “Del Comune Di Serralunga d’Alba” pours a pale garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with powerful, heady notes of red (mostly) and black fruit: fresh raspberries, pomegranate, blood orange, roses, talcum powder, freshly tarred roof and dry earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. This is a powerful expression of the 2019 vintage that needs some time to settle down. The fruit profile is quite big but the classic Serralunga structure is there in the background. You can drink now if you’re a hedonist (guilty) but I suspect a bigger reward to come from 2029-2040+. — 2 months ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.2

@Delectable Wine this is Damiano Cavallini Colline Novaresi Nebbiolo “Caramino”. Thanks!

Gorgeous nose. Reminds me of SLB 1er Cru made from Nebbiolo. Gorgeous pure mid season cherry fruit. Loads of tweed jacket. Smoke, minerals and tar. Up the wazoo florals. So aromatic and fragrant. Palate has terrific acid and freshness and dazzling purity. Sour and mid season cherries galore. Ripe and juicy tannins and lovely persistence. Rustic in the best way but clean. Love rustically clean wines. Very juicy and zippy. That acid is Fassy and fass approved. Man those cherries! Nice ripe tannins provide structure and depth. Very sappy and pure. — 5 years ago

Zimran Ahmed

9.2

Lovely. Perfumed nose. Bright. Ripe berries and minerals. Licorice. — 10 months ago

Benjamin Peter

9.2

2020 toller Primitivo — 3 years ago

Ceccherini Cristiano

8.9

Enjoyable not unforgettable
Dry table wine — 4 years ago

Jason Gelman

8.9

super funky and yeasty and cloudy. lots of body on this one, it’s thick and chewy. contemplative wine, fun to try — 5 years ago

Dick Catlin

9.3

This was great stuff. Very structured but is still young. — 2 years ago

Samuli Jokipaltio

9.0

Surprisingly bitter for a light “pinot-like” grape. Needs time to fully open (duh). — 3 years ago

Rob Brobst III

9.7

Wine Spectator #7 This family-owned winery, founded in 1896, is run today by fourth-generation brothers Franco and Roberto Massolino. Located in the heart of the village of Serralunga d’Alba, the 100-acre estate is known for its single-vineyard Barolos from Margheria, Parafada, Parussi and Vigna Rionda, yet it’s their classic-style Barolo from the excellent 2016 vintage that earns a spot on our list for its quality and value. A blend of Nebbiolo from parcels in Briccolina, Le Turne, Collaretto, Broglio and Damiano in Serralunga, with 5 percent from Parussi in Castiglione Falletto, the wine aged 29 months in 5,000-liter Slavonian oak casks. — 4 years ago

Noah Hyte

8.9

Big flower and lavender on the nose, medium body W/ light tannins. Great w/ amantricana and gineua. — 7 years ago