2012 Vietti Barolo Brunate

It's hard not to fall in love with the 2012 Barolo Brunate. This is an uneven vintage across the appellation, but Vietti has managed to harness the very best side of the grape during this growing season. The wine is densely concentrated and rich with black cherry, cassis and spice. It shows firm structure at the back with elegantly polished and fine-tuned tannins. The wine is almost approachable now (in another five years), but is more suitable for longer bottle aging.

A dark, powerful wine, the 2012 Barolo Brunate is the most brooding and inward of these wines. With time and a good bit of air, the Brunate becomes a bit more precise and nuanced, yet it remains a bit monolithic next to the other wines in the range. A host of savory herbs, licorice, tobacco and dark fruits meld into the huge, explosive finish. There is no shortage of depth or character, but increasingly the Brunate is being outclassed by some of its siblings. The competition is pretty tough at Vietti these days.

Cask sample and at the time of tasting they were undecided about whether the wine would be bottled under its vineyard name or disappear in the blend called Castiglione. Just mid ruby with the beginning of orange tinges. Very subdued nose only hinting at strawberry fruit. Very slow and long and at the end a nice spurt of acidity. Powdery tannins. (WS)