2016 Barolo Bricco Pernice

Novello. Lustrous mid ruby. Harnessed opulence on the nose and loaded with minerally earthy notes. Multi-layered with fine gravelly tannins clinging to the supple long fruit. Still embryonic yet displaying lushness as well as intense fragrance without losing focus on the palate. Great potential. (WS)

The 2016 Barolo Ravera Bricco Pernice is a serious wine, and I mean that both in terms of its complex sophistication and its rather austere and brooding personality. The bouquet is redolent of dark fruit, wild plum and redcurrant, but there is plenty more at the back, with iron ore, crushed stone, camphor ash and licorice. Those sharply contoured lines could be from nowhere else but the classic 2016 vintage, and you recognize its many merits right off the bat. It offers ample depth, nuance and power. Only 5,000 bottles exist, unfortunately.

Amplified and spiced aromatics lift from the 2016 Barolo Ravera Bricco Pernice, with notes of tar, cinnamon, dried currant, and fresh sage. Flush with mid-palate fruit, it also has driving acidity and gripping structure, noted by plum skin, tea leaf, and burnt orange. Defined with persistence and angular structure, the 2016 is one to hold 3-5 years and drink 2024-2046.