2021 Bruna Grimaldi, Barolo DOCG “Camilla” Piemonte, Italy.
The beautifully put together and aromatic Bruna Grimaldi Camilla Barolo, sourced from multiple sites, including La Morra, set on clay, sand and limestone soils, which all adds up to refined tannins, complex depth, a long seductive finish and capturing the elegance of the vintage. The full bodied palate of the dark ruby hued 2021 Camilla shows off crushed briery red berries, damson plum, cherry and red currant fruits, along with wilted roses, tarry licorice, delicate cedar, light balsamic notes, chalky stone and grilled herbs. These Grimaldi wine see all sustainable grown grapes, with organic farming now employed in all the vineyards the winery sources from, which has become very common in recent times to elevate the quality and purity of the wines. The Grimaldi family has been in the Barolo business since 1957, but the modern version of this property really got started as a producer of fine wine with Bruna Grimaldi in 1990 and this label has gained a solid reputation over the last two decades. Now, winemaker Franco Fiorino crafts these wines with a passion for transparency and precision. I tasted this wine, along with a previously reviewed Langhe Nebbiolo, and I absolutely recommend not passing up the Bruna Grimaldi offerings when you see them.
The Bruna Grimaldi Baroli, as I’ve mentioned before, are made with a nod to the regions history with grapes that are harvested by hand and carefully sorted both in the vineyard and in the cellar before the clusters are all de-stemmed and gently crushed. Fiorini uses a temperature-controlled fermentation with, as he notes, a long skin contact maceration that lasts 20-30 days, sometimes employing a submerged cap for perfect extraction of color and structure. The primary fermentation of the must happens in a combination of stainless steel and concrete, after which the Nebbiolo (Barolo) gets aged and mainly matured in large Slavonian oak Botti for between 24 and 30 months, though this wine saw a touch of French wood. Before release the Grimaldi wines, again as I have noted in my prior reviews, see an extra bit of rest in bottle to allow integration and poise on release. This Camilla, while not a blockbuster, really impresses, especially for the price, with heightened pleasures in the glass and an underlying structure that should see it aging nicely for many years, maybe decades. My first recent Barolo from Bruna Grimaldi, was from 2016, and that wine compelled me to keep an eye on this winery and I think these 2021s are looking very rewarding too.
($60 Est.) 93+ Points, grapelive