Giovanni Rosso Barolo 2021

Giovanni Rosso is a long-established family estate in the DOCG Barolo of Piedmont, where the Rosso family, now led by Davide, aim to make wine that reflects its terroir. This is pure Nebbiolo, farmed organically. The calcareous marl soils of the Langhe and the wide diurnal range between warm days and cold autumn nights let the late-ripening grape build flavour while keeping its high acidity and firm tannin, the morning fog that gives Nebbiolo its name a fixture of the harvest. The wine ages eighteen months in large oak foudres; their high volume-to-surface ratio limits both oxygen ingress and oak flavour, so the tannins soften slowly and the fruit and floral character remain central rather than being marked by wood. The colour is pale garnet. The nose is fragrant with red cherry, dried rose and violet moving into tobacco, leather and forest floor. The palate is medium bodied and savoury, the tannins fine and gripping, the acidity bright, the finish long and marked by liquorice and dried herbs. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees and decant an hour or more ahead. It suits braised beef, game and mushroom dishes.