Introducing 2020 Barolo, with Bruna Grimaldi
By law, Barolo must spend a minimum of 38 months ageing (of which at least 18 is in oak) before it can be physically released to the market. (It can of course be sold earlier as a future, aka en primeur). So bottles of 2020 Barolo won't start arriving en masse to the UK till later this year. But we will have some sneak previews on tasting in the shop tomorrow, courtesy of one of our favourite estates, Bruna Grimaldi. Critics concur that 2020 is a joyful and easy-to-taste Barolo vintage. The wines enjoy a radiance akin to the warm 2018 vintage, this year set against a very livening freshness. But come and taste for yourself!
It has been a dynamic last decade for the Grimaldis, with a switch to organic viticulture, a new cellar, and the next generation stepping up. Their wines have been getting better and better. Sister-and-brother team Martina and Simone are a dynamic duo, questioning everything from the ground up. Their many experiments have led them to move back towards a more traditionalist model in the cellar, with slower fermentations and larger-format barrels. 2020 also saw the arrival of a state-of-the-art destalker machine, which shows in the finer tannins.
Camilla is their blended Barolo, coming from a diverse variety of soils (limestone, sandstone, clay, marl) across five of the classic communes - a true showcase for the region. Bricco Ambrogio comes from the only cru site in the commune of Roddi. 'I wouldn't say it is an easy vineyard to work, but in wet years there is little disease pressure, and in hot years it doesn't suffer from hydric stress, and that's the mark of a really good vineyard,' says Simone. And Badarina comes from Serralunga, where the limestone soils lead to a taut, structured style that is often less giving when young, but which will have the longest cellar life. Martina will be with us in the shop from noon-2pm tomorrow, talking us through samples of these wines, and we will have the wines on tasting till we close at 6pm - we hope you can join us. /NT
Offered subject to remaining unsold; for shipment Winter 2024
