“Unprecedented Glory” 2019 Barolo: Fratelli Alessandria
This post deserves a drum roll — there is a lot of excitement about the 2019 vintage in Barolo, and it is well-founded: these are qualitatively excellent wines that are gorgeous now and will age very, very well.
Of course our partners in Verduno, Fratelli Alessandria, have crafted yet another stellar selection of Barolo wines — yet these 2019 bottles may have surpassed them all. Crucially, the wine world is waking up to the greatness to be found in ‘Monvigliero,’ Verduno’s top cru vineyard — and one that Fratelli Alessandria has championed for literally decades. They were the first estate to bottle a single vineyard cru ‘Monvigliero’!
These wines are highly allocated — here’s the kicker quote from Monica Larner at Wine Advocate, and she’s right: you should get on these 2019s!
“The abundant enthusiasm for the 2019 vintage has legitimate context. There is a solid argument to be made that the wine regions of Piedmont have entered a chapter of unprecedented glory … [The 2019] wines show extra tannic structure and freshness. We can count on these bottles for long and glorious cellar aging … My cellar is stocked, how about yours?”
2019 Fratelli Alessandria Barolo Monvigliero
The 2019 Barolo Monvigliero shows a medium dark garnet appearance with an especially focused quality of fruit. There is wild cherry and Japanese plum, but the Monvigliero cru also delivers crushed rose, earthy iris root, candied orange peel with clove and dustings of black pepper. The wine is exceedingly silky and polished in texture, but its inherent complexity is never diminished. It should be interesting to revisit this bottle after the 10-year mark. This estate was the first to bottle a Monvigliero in 1978.
2019 Fratelli Alessandria Barolo Gramolere
The 2019 Barolo Gramolere shows a slightly sweeter and riper fruit profile. This wine comes from the village of Monforte d’Alba, which is known for more structured and powerful wines compared to Verduno (where this winery is based), which offers lighter, more floral wines instead. Gramolere shows dark fruit, plum and spice, but it also has a pretty mineral note of rust or iron. However, within this portfolio, this wine may well deliver the longest drinking window.
2019 Fratelli Alessandria Barolo San Lorenzo di Verduno
This vineyard delivers slightly more concentrated fruit and a medium-dark appearance from loamy calcareous soils. The 2019 Barolo San Lorenzo di Verduno delivers more oomph and power with ripe cherry, blackcurrant, dark spice and earthy aromas. Fratelli Alessandria makes some of the most harmonious wines in Verduno, and that quality comes through beautifully in this wine, despite the slightly more robust fruit weight delivered by San Lorenzo di Verduno.
2019 Fratelli Alessandria Barolo del Comune di Verduno
These village-specific wines are growing in popularity, and among the various expressions on the market today, this wine from Verduno is really quite special thanks to its highly distinctive floral aromas and its delicate sense of inner balance … the Fratelli Alessandria 2019 Barolo del Comune di Verduno shows a fine, streamlined mouthfeel with polished tones of river stone, crushed rose and licorice root.
