2014 Barolo Sarmassa
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2014 Barolo Sarmassa is showing signs of early aging. A first warning sign is the wine's color intensity, which ultimately proves muted and tinged with amber or copper hues. The aromas are dried and flat with black currant, dried prune, fig, cola and tobacco leaf. There is a hint of dried rubber as well that may well worsen with time. The finish is very dry with a dusty quality of tannins. The difficult vintage conditions made for difficult, labor-intensive circumstances. Some 8,524 750-milliliter bottles and 471 magnums were made.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Barolo. Tasted blind. Just mid ruby with narrow orange rim. Herbal and balsamic and a hint of Moroccan leather. Supple but rather closed and backward on the palate. The finish is a little dominated by the acidity and mitigated only by the chewy tannins. A little austere and just medium bodied. (WS)
The 2014 Barolo Sarmassa has a lot more depth than the other wines in the range, but it lacks the freshness that I associate with these wines. In 2014, Enzo Brezza chose to add the fruit that would have otherwise gone into his flagship Bricco Sarmassa to the straight Sarmassa.
Pale ruby. Some freshness and intensity on the nose. Remarkably smooth on the mid palate until the fine tannins insist on the very end. Rather noble and encouraging even if not for the very long term. (JR)