Aldo Conterno's 2014 Barolo Cicala is a powerful, dark, brooding wine. Iron, smoke, game, cedar, tobacco, menthol and red cherry jam infuse this potent, unctuous Barolo from Aldo Conterno. A wine of gravitas and power, the 2014 possesses outstanding depth and plenty of character to match its driving personality.

The 2014 Barolo Bussia Cicala comes from a 3.2-hectare parcel, and only 5,400 bottles are made despite the fact that there is the potential for higher volumes. Both the Cicala and the Romirasco sites are relatively steep and therefore enjoy longer sunlight hours each day of summer for ripe and concentrated fruit. Of these new single-vineyard releases from Poderi Aldo Conterno, Cicala is my top choice in 2014. The wine shows a pure and enduring mouthfeel with salty or saline minerality that makes it such a pleasure to drink. The wine boasts a direct and vertical delivery of aromas, with cassis and dried raspberry that burst to the top with brightness. Cicala is a more direct and focused expression next to Colonnello, which tends to be more broad and horizontal instead.