2012 Italy

An alluring smoky, earthy, cherry & fruits of the forest laden nose. Background notes of espresso, mocha and tobacco. Complex and enticing.  The palate is medium plus bodied, powerful and rich and yet with a cutting / well balanced acidity that gives it beautiful lift, making the length go on and on.  Mouth filling and yet excellently poised, very attractive now but will reward another 5 + years cellaring.  An excellent example of what can be achieved with the meeting of great vinous minds alongside great terroir.
17/20 Stuart Rae, Commercial Manager (Private Accounts)

This gloriously feminine expression of Nebbiolo exudes purity and clarity. The nose is reminiscent of crushed dried petals, crunchy redcurrant and cranberry, layered with savoury undertones. The acidity is bright and finely balanced with the toned tannins. More approachable in its youth than Rabajà and Asili, it will still age with grace. Drink 2018-2024. 

From further down the La Morra escarpment, Brunate is clearly more muscular than its sister La Serra, even in 2012. This is darker, brooding garnet-red, fuller and more menthol, with loganberry, balsam oil and liquorice aromas. To taste, it’s squarer, more tannic, more demanding and complex in youth, so will need at least 10 years to come round.


The Marcarini estate was established in the mid-1800s by Giuseppe Tarditi. Today, it is owned and managed by the utterly charming Manuel Marchetti, widower to Giuseppe's great, great, granddaughter, the late Luisa Bava. Their three children are slowly joining the family business, but Mexican-born Manuel is still very much in charge and running the domaine with wonderful passion and enthusiasm.

Mid ruby with some signs of age. Quite opulent Sangiovese nose with hints of tobacco. Seems already quite developed but shows real breeding. A little rich, dense and with fantastic acidity. Modernist, skilful, but big.
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com. 6th March 2017.

First released as a single-vineyard wine in 1997, Verduno’s San Lorenzo vineyard is effectively an extension of the great Monvigliero vineyard, if lower down and on redder, sandy, clay soils. This aspect of terroir is clearly visible in the open, soft, red-garnet colour, and the warmth of its sandalwood and mandarin-skin aromas. It’s so gentle and charming, with sandy, suave, orange peel and spice. Only a few hundred cases were made from the small plot. 

Roberto’s Rabajà recalls the damp and then hot vintage, while expressing its prime, “front row”, west-facing, deep, grey, marne-clay soils perfectly. A darker, almost ruby red, it’s very, cooly composed, noble even, on the nose, with dried roses, black truffle and clove notes. Broad, emphatic and square-shouldered with lots of juicy flesh on those heavy bones, ensuring Rabajà’s well covered for the years to come as it ages in bottle.

One of the oldest, and finest, Barbaresco estates, Cascina Luisin is located close to the village itself, overlooking its prime vineyard of Rabajà. Roberto is gradually filling the shoes of his father, Luigi Minuto. There has been a renovation of the large oak botti, with Austrian Stockinger oak, along with a new family reserves cellar for all those magnificent old bottles. Alongside the structured Rabajà, this year we are also offering the second release of their old-vine Asili.

Utterly distinct from San Lorenzo, first bottled in the great 1978 vintage, Fratelli Alessandria’s 2012 Monvigliero sings of the vineyard’s steep, white-talc slopes, with its pale, red-rose colour, and rose-petal scent, along with vintage-specific notes of violet creams. In spite of the violently hot August, Alessandria’s chalky Monvigliero kept its cool – helped no doubt by the family’s decision to de-leaf less and less in the face of a changing climate – and so giving us a haunting, ethereal, fresh, mandarin-skin and rose-petal beauty, wrapped up by the finest of (Verduno) tannins and a salty lick.

Roberto’s second vintage making Barbaresco from this celebrated cru. If sand is what characterises Paolin, and grey, marne clay Rabajà, then limestone is what surely distinguishes Asili. (Indeed, Asili could be said to possess the agility of Paolin with the complexity of Rabajà.) Whatever the similarities, it’s clearly beautifully balanced – the limestone element giving us masses of small, red fruit that have soaked up the hot August sun, rendering them tamarind like, decadent even, and complemented by new Stockinger oak botte. 

Compared to the Riserva, in my view the 'Franzisca' is deceptively bigger and bolder when young, yet with time it refines itself to the highest level expected of Barolo. It's certainly more difficult to read in youth: it's more reticent, complex, made from 80 year old, free-standing alberello vines on stunning rose granite grit soils that are free-draining and naturally give a tiny yield of precious Cannonau fruit. So named after Giovanni's wife Francesca ('Franzisca' in Sardo), to whom it belongs, the fabulously placed vineyard, on a raised, walled, terrace 1ha plot overlooking their village of Mamoiada (population 2,800), it was their sole vineyard until 'Elisi' was added with the 2007 vintage.

On the palate, it's pure mulberry fruit, with typical old vines decadence and intensity. It's sensational, sumptuous, detailed, coolly mineral, blessed with more natural extract (thanks to the site and the old vines), structure and minerality. It is what Giovanni might call a 'bellino!', and more besides. Aged in a combination of large Slavonian oak and French tonneaux barrels. Only 2,000 bottles made.
David Berry Green

Violet florals, pink peppercorn and earthy notes on the nose lead through to a compact palate. Tamarind, dark fruit and blackberry flavours are layered with fine tannins, while the finish is concentrated and long. This is drinking perfectly right now. 

From the blended Barolo Serralunga d’Alba we move up a gear to the single-vineyard Cerretta. Noticeably more focused and more resolved than the village Barolo, this is darker plum in colour, suave, soft and generously fruity on the nose, with neat, bright intensity. One is struck by the volume of fruit on offer; succulent kirsch, currant and dark cherry, with such clean lines.

While the Rosso family’s Vigna Rionda vineyard may now be the most sought-after, it’s their Serra vineyard, on bright, white, talc soils just across the road that consistently catches the eye. Beautifully poised with salty, red-cherry fruit freshness and such focus. While Cerretta delves out the plummy fruit in abundance, Serra is more sinewy and highly strung, like a thoroughbred race horse. This is pure, red rose essence. 

The stony, chalky minerals of this renowned site in Serralunga d’Alba come through on the nose and palate, adding to the precision lent by defined tannins and clean acidity. Layers of crunchy red fruit, smoky spice and rich plums hint at the complexity to come with time in bottle. 

“There is only one Bruno Giacosa. No one will ever make wines like these. It's as simple as that.” Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

Now firmly amongst the greats of the Italian wine scene, Tignanello’s origins lie in a single vineyard Chianti Classico Riserva ‘Vigneto Tignanello‘ made for the 1970 vintage. Even at this point it broke new ground by being the first Sangiovese aged in small oak barrels, and the die was cast from the 1971 vintage, when it became a Vino da Tavola della Toscana and was named Tignanello after the vineyard from where the fruit originates. Over the following eleven years Tignanello gradually evolved into the wine we recognise today – a wine that no longer follows the rules laid down by Chianti Classico Disciplinare.

This is a Tignanello vintage with wonderful purity of fruit on the nose first and foremost. Pure, unadulterated bramble, hedgerow fruit – exquisite! Behind that initial and impressive wave of fruit there are complex layers of nutmeg, black tea and Asian spices. This continues apace on the palate, and also where the Sangiovese really comes into play. The taut structure and fine tannins build neatly through the midpalate where more layers of hoi sin, dark coffee and subtle meatiness. The finish is textbook Tignanello, refined yet focussed and wonderfully long. Drinking from 2018 onto 2030.
Gary Owen, Fine Wine

Tignanello releases are always of huge interest – a superb Super Tuscan red which still offers significant value. This 2012 release demonstrates the quality and consistency of the Antinori estate very well indeed. The nose offers generous dark fruit, black cherry and cassis with notes of clove and dried herbs. The palate is laced with fine acidity giving real energy and vibrancy, very moreish. Fine, silky and eminently approachable now, but there is more to come of course and more layers will emerge over the coming years. Drink 2018 – 2028.
Martyn Rolph, Fine Wine 

We are once again fortunate to be able to offer the opportunity to buy three of Roberto's top Baroli. This year we are featuring the 2012 vintage and we are offering the wines in a mixed 12 bottle case.

This case contains:

5 x 75cl 2012 Barolo Rocche dell’ Annunziata
5 x 75cl 2012 Barolo Cerequio  
2 x 75cl 2012 Barolo Brunate

A new vintage of Sassicaia is always a treat and is never a disappointment. Cool, yet ripe Cabernet fruit provides great promise for the wine to come. On the palate that delicious coolness is there again, but there’s no hint of the hard edge that one might expect from such a cool wine, in fact ripeness of fruit is abundant. It’s more about the restrained sophistication of the style of this wine, incredibly elegant and fine, this is very impressive. All is perfectly in balance; fruit, acidity and fine tannins, nothing dominating. This isn’t a blockbuster of a wine, but if you are looking for something elegant and restrained with real breeding, this classic Sassicaia is for you.
Chris Pollington – Private Account Manager

 

This delicate, elegant fine white wine celebrates the black volcanic lava rock – pietra nera – on which the Mediterranean isle of Pantelleria stands, brilliantly brought to light through the indigenous Zibibbo grape (aka Moscato di Alessandria/Canelli). This tiny three-hectare patch of 57-year-old vines is located in the Cufurà side of the island at 300 metres above sea-level.

You might be expecting something hot and explosive, but being an island wine halfway between Sicily and Tunisia, this remains decidedly breezy and cool at 12 percent alcohol, with deliciously intricate, citrus pith, smoky, mineral and salty aromas. Two thirds is vinified in stainless steel, a third in used French barriques. Perfect with sea fish, such as bream.

As Alberto moves to communicate the exact provenance of his wines and territory, this quivering 100% Carricante white wine in vintage 2012 comes from the Contrada of Arcuria, close to the village of Passopisciaro. Fermented in new cement, followed affinamento (elevage) in 10 hectarelitre Bottaro botte and some tonneaux, this soaring Etna Bianco supports the (my) belief that the Carricante grape is in its element here, where it’s picked in mid October high up on the volcanic slopes (while Catarratto is more at home in the Val di Mezara province to the west). Pale in colour, tight, fresh, pure, with crunchy minerality and a waif-like wild fennel leaf scent, this medium-full bodied dry wine was bottled in Sept ember 2013 and should continue to develop well over the next decade. Very exciting.
David Berry Green

Cooler on the nose than many previous vintages, with polished toasty sweet oak and dark cherry behind. Plenty of concentration on the palate, ripe red and black fruit, some glossy, spicy oak notes, crisp acidity and some fine-grained tannins rounding it out. Definitely one for the cellar, this will reward patience and will be at its best from around 2020.
Chris Pollington, Private Account Manager

The 2012, is a classic Bordeaux blend, as Ornellaia has always been, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot making up the lion’s share of the cepage and Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot adding complexity. Cabernet Franc is becoming recognised as one of the most successful varieties for Bolgheri and the quantity in the blend of all the major wines in the region seems to be increasing. It may well be that Bolgheri is one of the world’s best sites for this often overlooked variety.

Alberto’s village blend of 100% Nerello Mascalese, from across his 15 hectares planted in the villages of Randazzo, Solichetta, Passopisciaro and Castiglione, encapsulates the natural balance and harmony that this noble grape is able to achieve here on Etna. Fermented in cement followed by affinamento (elevage) in Stockinger tini, this pale garnet-red wine, of medium-full body, sings of strawberry patch purity, of volcanic minerals, of beguiling soft summer fruit and warm Sicilian breezes.
David Berry Green

Tasting the wine from barrel on Friday 7th March, I was struck, not by any particular aroma or flavour, but by the elegant shape of the wine. Pale red/ruby in colour, the nose is reassuringly self-effacing; it’s understated, composed and cultured, delicately perfumed with mulberry, a hint of menthol and cool clove. The palate is remarkable for its serenity, Maserati-line and persistence. Barely discernible are the layers of tight, sweet-berried fruit and spice, framed by the finest tannins, racy with cleansing acidity. Compared with vintage 2011, Vigna Rionda 2012 is more classical, with cooler, delicate aromatics; aromatics that become fragrant on the palate. Proper wine. Only 1,457 litres have been made, and are being sold as ‘futures’ to be released in bottle spring 2016. 
David Berry Green, Italy Buyer.

Formerly known as Etna Rosso Quota 600, Alberto has decided in 2012 to pinpoint the wine’s provenance on the label, hence the words ‘Contrada da Arcuria’. It still heralds from that lofty spot among the rocky lava flows, whose black, sooty soils contrast dramatically with the profusion of wild fennel that coats the volcano. These extraordinary soils, rich in magma minerals, appear to give a smoky edge to the loganberry, fleshy fruit, while remaining very precise and salty – a natural trait of the Nerello Mascalese grape.
David Berry Green