Wines

93+ Points! The 2020 Cuvée Las Santas was produced from a number of small plots at higher altitudes and cooler expositions (north), only Garnacha, small plots. It has some Mediterranean, Châteauneuf-like character (cherries in liqueur, Mediterranean herbs) with 14% alcohol, very good acidity and very fine grained tannins. They fermented it with 50% full clusters and matured it in used French oak barrels for nine months. This is the wine they produce in the style they like, a more personal wine from special plots. 1,423 bottles were filled in March 2022.  - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! I love the pale, floral and delicate 2021 Kauten. This wine is the reason they started in the zone of Olite. The wine is elegant and ethereal. They do a soft extraction and only use half of the skins for the fermentation (50% of the clusters were pressed directly and the juice put in the fermentation vessel). They were worried because it's from a 20-year-old vineyard and they didn't want to extract much. They age it in used barrels for five months. The wine has 13.5%, and it's very approachable and expressive, with notes of sous bois, a vibrant palate and great freshness. Amazing wine and superb value. This is expressive, pure, deep and very satisfying. It should also age well. 1,246 bottles were filled in August 2022. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! Tasted about three weeks after bottling, the Pecchenino 2019 Barolo Bussia opens to a beautiful ruby color that shines from inside the glass. There is a subtle note of candied cherry or fragrant rose, but once that lifts, the wine reverts to characteristic Nebbiolo aromas of tar, licorice and blood orange. Bussia delivers a classic progression of aromas that are elegantly reinforced by the extra intensity and concentration of the 2019 vintage. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

93 Points! A fresh, juicy red highlighted by cherry, plum, tar, grass and eucalyptus flavors. Gains support from vibrant acidity and pliable tannins as this cruises to a long aftertaste of fruit, vegetal and mineral notes. - Wine Spectator

96 Points! Superb...These are the best Barbarescos I have tasted from Dave Fletcher. It is not easy for an outsider to establish themselves in Piedmont, which makes these wines doubly impressive. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

94 Points! A juicy and transparent grenache noir with aromas of strawberries, cherries, stones, iodine and some spices, too. It’s medium-bodied with fine tannins. It’s crunchy and full of vitality and energy on the palate. Vertical and not hiding anything with a precise, vibrant finish with some peppery notes. From organically grown grapes. Drink now or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Intense nose of fresh and dried red berries, together with dried leaves and dark, clove-like spice. Medium-bodied with firm tannins and a concentrated bead of bright fruit and minerals. The tannins pull hard on the finish for now, so wait for this one. It’s structured and layered and definitely built to last. Hold until 2024. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! There is a change in the 2022 La Bruja. It is no longer a village wine from Rozas de Puerto Real. In 2022, it is a regional wine, and in 2023, it also will be a regional wine but from Ávila, from the Cebreros appellation, as they are focusing their work there. It's a juicy and aromatic Garnacha, very much in the Comando G style, with good ripeness, 14% alcohol and more in the style of the 2020. It has a medium-bodied palate and a sapid finish with contained ripeness and fine granite granularity. They macerated less to adapt to the vintage, and it partly fermented with less skins. It's a more approachable La Bruja, expressive, open and more fruit-driven, more in a Morgon style. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

96 Points! Notes of red berries, crushed herbs and orange blossom with hints of lilac and wet stones. Medium- to full-bodied. Meaty and mouth-filling with polished tannins that are a little chewy at the end. Refined and sleek. Hints of bitter spices in the finish. - JamesSuckling.com

95+ Points! Quite robust and powerful on first nose, the 2019 Barolo Ginestra Vigna del Gris needs more time in bottle to flesh out and move past this current youthful phase. This wine is definitely poised to give more to those who wait. It opens to a dark garnet hue and ripe aromas of cherry skin, plum, rose and orange peel. Within the span of a few minutes, it starts to show additional spice and nutmeg. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

95 Points! The La Spinetta 2019 Barolo Campè Vürsù is balanced and bright with a little more heft and overall fruit concentration. Dried cherry, blackberry, spice and black licorice all appear on the bouquet. This is smooth in consistency but shows a long, polished mouthfeel that is especially tight and elegant in this vintage. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

93 Points! Pure and focused, offering violet, cherry, raspberry and mineral aromas and flavors. Shaped by vibrant acidity, this red persists with a lingering, resonant aftertaste. - Wine Spectator

From the winery: We are tremendously fortunate - on many levels - to have known and worked with George Besson Jr. and his exceptional vineyards for twenty years. George's late father, George Sr. purchased the grenache vineyard and farmhouse just after WWII on a gently north-facing rocky slope. These non-irrigated vines, planted on their own roots in 1910, sit a short distance from the start of the Santa Cruz Mountains, but several dozen feet too low to qualify for the appellation. Walking through the vines with George, one senses his deep affection and respect for the land and the vines, and his belief in man's subordinate role to nature in determining the ultimate quality of the grapes grown there. As a consequence of the age of the vines, the lack of irrigation, and the conservative farming practices, the quantity of grapes grown there is quite small - rarely if ever over 2 tons/acre.

A star is born! From the importer: ...a finely etched garnet gemstone of seductive red fruit with operatic red rose and lightly minted confiture notes that burst from the glass is surely his finest Nebbiolo to date.

Taken from various plots high on the plateau inside the località of San Grato and Zora, and at the top of Ravera and Terlo, tension is the backbone of this fresh-fruited Nebbiolo. With altitudes that range between 380-460 meters, the parcels, La Volta (410m), Zora (420-425m), and by the cantina in San Grato (445-460m) are on the gentler slopes and tilt toward the south and west and are fully exposed to sun all day. They share the blueish Sant’Agata Fossili marls, but La Volta has slightly reddish clay topsoil (perhaps due to the presence of more iron) while Zora has a topsoil of pale calcareous sand. By contrast, Ravera and Terlo sit between 380-430m and take a focused hit of the morning sun and miss the last hours of the sun’s intense heat, preserving even more tension and fresh minerally textures.

Daniele explains that the MGA La Volta’s clay gives a stronger tannic base and structure, Zora and San Grato more elegance, finesse and higher aromatic notes, and Ravera more softness and depth. The mix of these higher altitude sites, their varying degrees of phenolic ripeness and individual terroir complexities make for a diverse and impressively nuanced starting Nebbiolo.

During the vinification there is some inclusion of whole bunches but it’s typically less than 10%. The parcel selection changes from year to year based on the quality of their main Nebbiolo parcels, though Terlo is usually the smallest proportion. For example, in 2020 it was almost entirely La Volta, while the 2021 is mostly from Ravera’s upper section—the answer to why the 2021 plays at a different amplitude than many a Langhe Nebbiolo from celebrated growers and the 2020 is more power than finesse. The 2020 was aged in new 30hl botte, while the 2021 was aged in many different barrel sizes of varying ages. It’s fermented naturally in steel and concrete, and the macerations last about 25-27 days with daily pump-overs: three in the first days and one further into the maceration. Temperatures in steel are controlled while those in concrete are not.

After pressing, the wines are racked once or twice before going into 10-30hl concrete and wood vats for four to five months, selected for quality, then racked into steel for another two months before bottling. Sulfites are first added after malolactic, and it’s not fined nor filtered.

94 Points! The Fratelli Serio & Battista Borgogno 2019 Barolo shows a luminous ruby appearance and lean fruit weight. The bouquet follows up with crushed rose, dried cherry, licorice root and nectarine. I love the delicate, silky nature of the mouthfeel. This elegant wine has an accessible side, but it delivers a good value versus quality proposition. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

From the importer: Fabio’s Coste della Sesia Nebbiolo grapes are entirely grown within the Lessona appellation, but due to an archaic technicality, it’s not labeled as such because the winery it’s made in sits only fifteen feet over the border of Lessona and primarily in Coste della Sesia appellation, so it can only be labeled as a Costa della Sesia; it’s obvious that a wine should be labeled by the origin of their grapes, not the location of the cellar it was crafted in. (I apologize for the repetition of this paragraph if you've read Fabio's profile as well.)

The details: Fermentation in stainless steel for over three weeks, followed by aging in old 225 liter barrels for thirteen months. Fermentation is spontaneous and the use of sulfites is kept to a minimum—only 30ppm at bottling, which is near half the average for handcrafted, boutique fine wine. The vines are a mix of young and old, with the average close to twenty-five years.