'2021 is a superb vintage for Barolo... Alessandria crafts elegant, nuanced Barolos from top sites in Verduno and Monforte d’Alba'.
Antonio Galloni, vinous.com, January 2025
2021 was Vittore Alessandria's twentieth vintage at Fratelli Alessandria, and with similar vintage conditions and harvest dates, it harked back to his first. Just as in the great 2001 vintage, 2021 saw a long growing season which allowed the tough Nebbiolo grapes time to fully ripen. Summer was hot, but there were none of the sudden heat spikes that shock vines. The vines were stressed - but not too stressed. (Vines that have it too easy don’t usually make great wine.) Crucially, in the run-up to harvest, hot days were spliced between much cooler nights. It is that kind of diurnal variation that is increasingly seen as a vital component in the greatest vintages. It encourages aromatic complexity and leads to wines which marry ripeness and energy.
Fratelli Alessandria has been on the scene since the 1830s, so they've seen every kind of vintage there is. The winery is in Verduno, Barolo's northernmost commune, where the majority of their vineyards lie. Vittore is very proud that his was the first winery to release a pure Barolo di Verduno, blending fruit from five Verduno crus. (If you’re keeping track, they are Rocche dell’Olmo, Boscatto, Riva Rocca, Campasso and Pisapola). The final assemblage is a beautiful snapshot of the Verduno character that Vittore likes to describe as 'spicy elegance'; the 2021 is vibrant and alive and beautifully textured, with aromatics of cherry and rose petal.
Monvigliero is Verduno's most revered vineyard, sweeping down from behind the ridge over the Tanaro river. It always makes an intense wine, typically tightly wound on release. 2021 Alessandria Monvigliero is seamless, fresh and structured and powerful. San Lorenzo lies downslope from Monvigliero on sandier soils, and comes in a slightly more approachable style. The 2021 has a note of dried orange peel woven with the cherryish fruit, and a silk-on-stone finish. Fratelli Alessandria's holdings in the shallow soils of the Gramolere cru come down Vittore's mother’s side, from her home village of Monforte. 2021 Alessandria Gramolere is an austere wine now, all about texture and grip, but in time it will be explosively beautiful. /NT
