2011 Barolo Brunate
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The 2011 Barolo Brunate is a wine of enormous pedigree, although it does not fully reach the aspiring heights of the 2010 and 2009 vintages immediately before it. Those wines set the bar so high, you need to settle for this wine that is a masterpiece in its own right. It offers deep, dark intensity with generous tones of ripe fruit, blackberry and red currant. Background notes of rosemary, cherry cola and licorice add vitality and focus. There is a subtle touch of softness in the mouth that is followed by firm tannins.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
A beautiful purity of fruit to this young Barolo with ripe strawberries, citrus, flowers and spice. Full body, integrated tannins and a long finish. Need another two or three years to soften.
A dark, exotic Barolo, the 2011 Brunate boasts tons of density and volume. Black cherry, plum, spice, licorice, new leather and menthol are some of the many nuances that flesh out in the glass. Ultimately, though, the 2011 is largely defined by the texture and amplitude of the year. Brunate is often slow out of the gate, so I will not be surprised if that is the case here as well. Ideally, readers should plan on giving the 2011 at least a few years in bottle to fully come together.
Cask sample and at the time of tasting they were undecided about whether the wine would be bottled under its vineyard name or disappear in the blend called Castiglione. Just mid ruby with orange rim. Lifted cherry nose. Sweet and leafy on the palate but otherwise still brooding and closed. Lots of stalky tannins and supple acidity showing up on the finish.