2019 Barolo Vigna Chiniera

With vines adjacent to forests on white chalky soils, the Elio Grasso 2019 Barolo Gavarini Chiniera is a luminous and very beautiful wine. Vintner Gianluca Grasso called this "the helicopter vintage" because he actually rented a helicopter to fly over the vines for 45 minutes to dry them from rain right before harvest. As he tells it, this was a costly but good decision because 15 minutes after he finished harvesting on October 26, heavy rain came and lasted an entire week. Thanks to these dramatic measures, the grape skins were excellent, and maceration with submerged cap lasted 55 days. That's how perfect the skins were. This balanced wine shows extreme precision and elegance.

Monforte d’Alba – Ginestra. Lustrous mid ruby. Balsamic and a little ethereal on the nose, with perfumed morello cherry and cinnamon bark. Layered and complex. Gorgeous, succulent cherry palate with chewy tannins. Ready now but will age. (WS)

The 2019 Barolo Gavarini Chiniera is just superb, with layers of pure fruits and spices interwoven with vibrant cherry liqueur, candied roses, incense, and baking spice. Harmonious and balanced from the start, it offers ripe tannins, a seamless spine of fresh acidity, and fantastic length that leaves me wanting more. As it opens, it reveals more nuanced notes of apricot and saline earth. An outstanding medium to full-bodied red, this is one to cellar for a few years, as it has a ways to go before its full spectrum is revealed. Drink 2026-2050. This estate covers 42 hectares of land, of which 18 are dedicated to vineyard and the remainder to forest. Today, the entire family is involved at the winery – Elio, Gianluca, Marina, Francesca, Martina, and Anna Grasso. In the cellar, Gianluca practices low temperature fermentations with long macerations of up to two months with submerged cap management. Large Slavonian casks of 15- to 22-year-old barrels that have been steam-treated instead of charred are utilized.