Vietti - Barolo Brunate 2020 (1.5L)
Wine Advocate: 95 Points
The Vietti 2020 Barolo Brunate has a dark and spicy side that is infused throughout the fruit. Dark cherry and blackcurrant are folded into ferrous earth grilled rosemary aniseed and a hint of fresh mint. Brunate tends to be quite austere and firm in terms of its aromas and this vintage shows those qualities well. In fact the character of the site comes through clearly. The wine has a precise angular personality and the fruit feels compact. Only 4988 bottles were made. Vietti has access to Nebbiolo from 10 MGA sites to make the various wines in its ample portfolio. We also have a new wine to celebrate?the 2019 Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà?that knocks it out of the ballpark with its inaugural release. Published: Apr 04 2024
Wine Spectator: 94 Points
Equal parts fruity and balsamic this red reveals cherry cranberry and rose hip notes alongside eucalyptus juniper and cedar flavors. Taut and well-marked by a line of dusty tannins gracing the finish. Classy and long. Best from 2028 through 2045. ?B.S.
Vinous: 94 Points
The 2020 Barolo Brunate is a dark beguiling wine. Black cherry dried herbs leather game licorice and incense lend gorgeous sepia-toned nuance. Brooding and inward the 2020 clearly needs time. It is a super-classic Brunate that is hard to read in the early going but the weight substance and power are clearly there. Dense meaty and dark the 2020 shows Serralunga-like intensity. - By Antonio Galloni on November 2023 I tasted a wide range of wines on my most recent visit to Vietti. Starting with the 2020 Barolos I tasted every wine from a just-opened bottle and a bottle that had been double-decanted two hours prior to my arrival. Aeration can be a tricky thing with young just-bottled wines. Sometimes air can help young wines open but also shut them down hard. In 2020 the double-decanted bottles showed better. Overall there is a bit more variation from wine to wine than I am used to seeing while some of the Barolos are on the lighter side. In 2020 virtually all the fruit for the single-vineyard Barolos was picked in late September before the early October rains. Harvest resumed on October 5 with the second portion of Lazzarito and various parcels used in the Barolo Castiglione. The 2020s spent about 24 days on the skins with submerged cap maceration for most lots. Time in cask was 24-26 months. Readers will note several new wines in the range. Vietti?s 2019 Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà is stellar. The same is true incidentally of the 2020 Barbaresco Roncaglie. I have long admired the Barbarescos here. That is once again the case this year. The 2016 Barolo Riserva is the next incarnation of the 2015 Barolo Riserva that was released last year but it was made from different vineyards and vinified with a high percentage of whole clusters. I would be remiss if I did not spend some time on the entry-level offerings. The 2021 Barberas are fabulous. These are wines I bought often as a young consumer and continue to enjoy as often as possible. Ripeness and oak impact have been dialed back which really allows the purity of the fruit to come through.
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