Barolo Vignarionda DOCG 2015 Germano

Adding to a portfolio of wines from Serralunga d'Alba, this is a new wine from Sergio Germano of the Ettore Germano winery in Serralunga d'Alba. This wine makes a terrific inaugural presentation. The 2015 Barolo Vignarionda is an extremely focused and precise expression. The grapes are fermented with stem inclusion for up to 35 days, and lots of color and flavor intensity is imparted to this wine as a result. It is given two years to age in large oak casks. I taste the earth with dusty qualities, crushed stone and terracotta. That strong territorial imprint cedes to delicate tones of blue flower, forest berry, underbrush and blood orange. The tannins are dry but not intrusive. You will notice them, however, and the wine should be given ample time to evolve.

The 2015 Barolo Vignarionda is soft, open-knit and wonderfully alluring. Readers will find all of the pure sensuality of Rionda - one of Barolo’s greatest sites – in the glass. The vines in this redeveloped part of the vineyard planted in 2011 are still very young, but the first wines have been very impressive. Sweet floral and spiced notes linger on the silky finish. The only thing the 2015 is missing is the complexity that vines express as they get older. In a word: gorgeous.