The 2017 Barolo Brunate is a dark, powerful wine. A huge swath of tannins gives the Brunate its feeling of gravitas. Readers will have to be patient with the 2017, as it is going to need a number of years to come together. Dark cherry fruit, lavender, sage, licorice, spice and earthy notes build into a crescendo of aromas and flavors that is just captivating. The 2017 finishes with tremendous substance and intensity, both of which bode so well for the future.

It'll need a few minutes in the glass but then this stunning wine takes flight, revealing enticing scents of wild berries, violet and camphor. The palate is still youthfully austere, delivering red cherry, blood orange, licorice and dark baking spice and a hint of tobacco set against firm but well integrated tannins. It has great energy and youthful tension. Drink 2027–2042. Kerin O'Keefe

Keeping in line with the personality of the vintage, the 2017 Barolo Brunate is open and deeply expressive on first nose, with inviting waves of dark fruit, pressed violet, rust and licorice that add considerably to the lifted intensity of the bouquet. This Brunate puts its power and its deep, inner elegance right out there for you to enjoy. However, it also promises better things to those willing to wait for the wine to complete its bottle evolution over the coming decades. The palate is delicately lean, but long and polished, with important tannic fiber at the back. The 2017 growing season offered no moisture during the hottest weeks of summer, yet these tenacious grapevines and their extended root systems found a way to survive and thrive. ML

There are about 175 metres between the lowest and the highest plots within Brunate. Rinaldi's lie in the lower part, with a slightly easterly exposure but mostly south-facing. A super-classic Barolo, it has fresh violet, wild strawberry, liquorice and smoky tones on the nose. Firm yet graceful with good - if not great - concentration and length, it combines tight-knit acidity with strawberry and blood orange flavours - a vibrant palate despite the dry vintage, which is only perceived in its slightly biting finish. Drinking Window: 2021 - 2040
Tasted by: Aldo Fiordelli (at Alba, Hotel I Castelli, 29 Mar 2021)