2000 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne

The 2000 Barolo Le Vigne is made from parcels across multiple vineyards, which is always an advantage in challenging vintages. The 2000 Le Vigne is fresher and more delineated than the Cannubi Boschis, although it lacks that wine’s sheer pedigree. Pretty floral notes are woven into a textured fabric of red fruit and spices. There is just enough freshness for this to continue to drink well for a handful of years. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2018. I can still remember tasting Luciano Sandrone’s 2000 Baroli when they were young. The wines were unusually soft, seamless and pleasurable. Today Sandrone’s 2000s are more advanced than I had hoped or expected, which is somewhat of a disappointment as I own bottles of the 2000 Cannubi Boschis. I also own bottles of older vintages going back to 1988, and it is pretty clear the 2000 falls short of the standard this winery established in its truly great vintages, both before and after.

Medium red. Perfumed, expansive nose offers subtle red fruits, licorice, menthol and spices. Lush, sweet, full and mellow, with a dominant flavor of strawberry. Rich and seamless in the style of the vintage's best examples, without loss of definition or freshness. Finishes suave and sweet, with very fine tannins and lovely persistence.

The 2000 Barolo Le Vigne is structured, powerful on the nose with notes of licorice, tar, and macerated cherries, dense and solid in flavor, more muscular than usual and slightly tough on the finish. Time may help these tannins, and the wine can best be drunk between 2006 and 2018. Daniel Thomases, Wine Advocate # 160 Aug 2005