2006  

The wine is created from two vineyards: the Preda vineyard, planted in 1965, which is predominately clay marl and produces rich perfume and elegance, and the Sarmassa vineyard, planted in 1973, rich in sand and clay, yielding strong character, full body and structure. Intense ruby red in color, the wine is all kinds of red fruits enveloped in vanilla on the nose. Dry, full, and rich in body and structure, this wine is interesting young, with a great potential for aging.

2016  

Sarmassa is yet another historic cru located in the comune of Barolo, and the Virna 2016 Barolo Sarmassa moves the drinking window forward for those who don't want to wait many years before popping the cork. Sarmassa is often distinguished by a burst of power and richness, and you get both of those qualities in this classic vintage that calls for some kind of rabbit pasta or other game dish. Showing dark fruit nuances with a soft and open-knit quality of fruit, there is a fruity, succulent or even meaty quality to this wine that can't be missed in this release. - 94+pts Wine Advocate ---- This has a fascinating nose with ripe pomegranate, boysenberries, dried raspberries, tea leaves and dried spices. Full-bodied and dense, but the tannins are quite seamless and the acidity is agile and flowing throughout. Long and persistent on the finish. - 95pts James Suckling

2014  Valferana

Valferana -- 95pts WS

2018  

"What a delight it is to taste Oddero's 2018 Barolo Brunate. A glorious wine, the Oddero Brunate is one of the very few wines in this vintage that possesses real mid-palate depth and notable textural intensity. It is the smallest production wine here. I imagine that the slightly smaller cask used for this wine was an advantage in giving the 2018 a bit of extra flesh that is missing in this vintage. What impresses me most about the 2018, though, is its freshness and the primary intensity of the fruit. Iron, smoke, tobacco, dried herbs, chalk and a whole range of savory accents develop over time, rounding things out in style. What a wine!" - 95pts Vinous ---- "Always a standout wine, the Oddero 2018 Barolo Brunate is a complete wine, and I use that word specifically because it shows balance, freshness, length and structure. It has all the basics of an age-worthy Nebbiolo that promises to increase in complexity and depth with more cellar age. At this young stage, the bouquet is singing with dark fruit, cherry, spice and sweet earth." - 95pts WA

2018  

"The 2018 Gattinara comes from a vintage that performed well in this part of Alto Piemonte. I think what stands out here is the freshness, the balance of acidity that plays nicely into the minerality of the wine and the brightness of its wild rose and redcurrant flavors. This Gattinara carries a lot of fruit and primary intensity, all backed by subtle touches of balsam herb and soft tarry end notes. This 2018 underlines the elegance in Nebbiolo." - 94pts Wine Advocate

2017  Barolo

2015  

"The 2015 Barolo Bricco Rocche is gorgeous, and the key here is elegance. The winemaking team at Ceretto has finely integrated the tannins so that the wine comes out as super silky and fine. Showing all the delicate balsamic notes and dark fruit typical of the variety, this Barolo with fruit from Castiglione Falletto has just about everything that you expect from this prestigious denomination, surely even deserving a filet mignon to accompany it when you do open the bottle down the road from today. Some 4,000 bottles were made." - 98pts WA ---- "Instantly attractive and ethereal nose with rich perfume and ripe red cherries and plums, as well as wild flowers and herbs. So beautiful and complex. The palate has such concentration and purity from start to finish. There’s an incredibly deep vein of ripe cherries here, framed in perfectly polished and layered tannins. Great Barolo. Try from 2023." - 98pts JS

2014  Molsino

Molsino -- 94pts WA

2014  Valferana

Valferana -- 95pts WS

2017  

"The 2017 Barolo Francia is dense, rich and explosive right out of the gate. There is virtually no feeling of tannin, as the creaminess of the fruit is so expansive. Bright red cherry fruit, blood orange, kirsch, sage and menthol gradually appear as the 2017 starts to open in the glass. In 2017, Francia is decidedly exotic, not to mention such a thrill to taste." - 97pts Antonio Galloni ---- "I tasted the Giacomo Conterno 2017 Barolo Francia shortly before bottling. Like Roberto Conterno's other wines from this controversial vintage, this wine shines with brilliant and unexpected purity and intensity that is harder to find in its peers. It shows a deep understanding of the potential of a warm growing season, and the Nebbiolo is supple, velvety and uncharacteristically exuberant (for a grape whose elegance starts famously with understatement). Francia in Serralunga d'Alba evokes power and profound depth, with black and purple fruit highlights, rusty nail, crème de cassis, grilled rosemary and reddish rock or baked terracotta. The wine carries its considerable fruit weight with grace, and at the end of the day, it offers a complete portrait of vintage, variety and vintner." - 97pts Wine Advocate

2018  

"

The 2018 Barolo Francia is powerful, deep and also a touch austere. It shows the edginess of all the 2018s, but also has a feeling of textural creaminess that adds tons of character. Spice, menthol, leather and a whole range of balsamic overtones build into the deep, imposing finish. Roberto Conterno decided to forego his Barolo Monfortino in 2018, opting instead to blend all the casks into his Francia bottling. When that happens, Francia often surprises down the road. That could very well turn out to be the case here." - 95+pts Antonio Galloni

2017  

"The 2017 Barolo Arione is so incredibly distinctive. Heady savory, earthy, lavender and mineral accents wrap around a core of dark Nebbiolo fruit in a potent, muscular Serralunga that speaks with gravitas and authority. There is something mysterious about Arione, something that is not easily understood, but that is very much at the heart of its personality. The depth, presence and tannic clout are Serralunga at its best. I can't wait to check in on the 2017 in another few years, or decades." - 97pts Antonio Galloni ---- "The Giacomo Conterno 2017 Barolo Arione is my favorite in a mini vertical from this cru site in Serralunga d'Alba. I prefer the 2017 to the classic 2016 and the wine's inaugural vintage, the 2015. What this vintage has is an ample and generous sense of fullness and stature. These results are impressive, and even imposing to an extent. This is a statement wine that proudly submits multiple layers of black fruit, blackcurrant, cast iron, earth, licorice root and cola. The supportive tannins are well played against the wine's rich texture, natural structure and fruit concentration. The power of a warm vintage and the muscle power of Arione overlap in this special bottle and will carry this wine over extended aging." - 97pts Wine Advocate