2005 Barolo Vigna Cicala
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Tasting notes
Concentrated, deep ruby with orange-tinged rim. Ethereal, and a little bit reminding of cassis. Definitely cool on the nose and less generously oaked than 2007 it seems. Elegant and perhaps not as powerful and long as the 2007 but with finely tuned acidity. Grainy and slightly astringent tannins betray the cool vintage. (WS)
Critic scores
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Richer in limestone. Very dry and dense. Quite painful now! Drying fruit at the moment. Not a wine for neophytes... Meaty nose. (JR)
(the first vintage for this wine since 2001, as this vineyard was hailed on in 2004) Good full medium red. Wild aromas of redcurrant, black cherry, tar and leather; this smells tannic but the fruit element expands impressively as the wine opens in the glass. Then large-scaled and firm in the mouth, with powerful acidity currently suppressing the wine's sweetness. There's a boatload of fruit here, but today the wine's mineral and gamey elements dominate. In a very traditional style, and completely different from the Colonnello: more backward and more masculine (Conterno refers to it as "our rude boy"). The serious tannins build with air and currently cut off the wine's finishing fruit.
The estate's 2005 Barolo Cicala is a transparent, mid-weight wine redolent of dark fruit, spices, minerals and licorice, all of which come together in the glass with superb elegance. Here the tannins are decidedly firmer and bigger than in the Colonello, even though the vineyards are just a few hundred meters apart! This powerful yet harmonious wine is simply radiant in its beauty. All that it needs is a little patience.