2021 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli, Barolo DOCG, Cannubi, Piedmonte, Italy.
Tasted at this year’s Slow Wine show in San Francisco, this 2021 Cannubi cru Barolo by Borgogno is an outstanding and utterly delicious wine of class and substance showing off classic Nebbiolo dark cherry, damson plum, strawberry and mulberry fruits that were admirably seamless on the full bodied palate, these flavors were again, like in my previously Cannubi notes, accented by spicy cedar, anise, mineral tones, seeped rose petals, lavender, bay leaf and a light umami element with an earthy truffle note. This is one of the most elegant young Borgogno Barolos I’ve tried, with excellent integration of raw tannin, lifting acidity and the length here is truly mind blowing and beautiful, this is exceptional stuff. Asnoted before here, founded back in 1761, Borgogno is the oldest continuously operating winery in Barolo, is now run by Farinetti family, who bought the estate in 2008. As noted in my prior reviews and as the winery explains, this historic property under Andrea Farinetti’s leadership, has seen an organic conversion and the winery reverted to using only cement vats for fermentation, and a return to the original or the estate’s original winemaking style. All the wines are made at the estate’s winemaking facility in the village of Barolo in their underground network of historic fermentation and aging rooms. It’s almost a given these days to look to Borgogno for the best in rewarding Barolo offerings and the traditional authentic character here is without question one of the highlights of these wines, also, there’s something for everyone throughout their range and it is a great time to look at their collection in full.
The Borgogno Cannubi cru Barolo, as mentioned before, (is) like all of their single vineyard and riserva wines, is hand crafted with traditional methods, made only from the best grapes from Cannubi and fermented with native yeasts and sees a gentle extraction to allow for delicacy, while building age worthy structure. This spontaneous natural fermentation takes place in cement tanks at low temperatures and is followed by a long submerged cap maceration, which the winery says, can in some vintages like this one, reach 50 days before being raked off to mainly large oak casks. The Cannubi site is set on calcareous soils, with clay marl, and is slightly sandy, with Borgogno’s patch being perfectly situated to capture the sun, this terroir delivers power, chalky stoniness and ripe flavors. The aging for the Barolo Riserva happens exclusively in big Slavonian oak barrels for a massive six years, then this wine, like all Borgogno’s Riservas, was rested almost a year in bottle before being released from the cellar, while the Cannubi, as the winery says, gets four years (48 months) in Slavonian oak casks (4500L) with a further 6 months in bottle before release. Another bonus for Nebbiolo lovers, Borgogno has one of the deepest wine libraries in the world, with Barolo vintages stretching back decades. Cannubi is maybe the most famous and renowned (Grand) Cru of Barolo with a long history, that dates back to the 1700s, the Nebbiolo here is legendary and it is always a special treat to drink wines from this prestigious Piedmonte vineyard. At Slow Wine, I really loved this one, but the 2024 Derthona (Timorasso) white from Borgogno is an absolute must as well!
($180 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive