Every so often, a vintage comes along that is destined for legend. For Barolo, 2016 is one of those years. This wine captures the regal spirit of this celebrated vintage, sourced from a producer known for blending tradition with modernity. By sourcing from top sites, including in the powerful village of Castiglione Falletto, this wine paints a complete picture of a modern classic with the structure to age for decades.
Our buyers taste thousands of wines a year. Here's why this one made the cut for our Discovery Series.
K&L Italian Buyer
"This is a very special library release. The 2016 vintage is one of the greatest of our lifetime. A forward-thinking family estate, known for their impeccably balanced and polished Barolos, agreed to release a small parcel of their classic 2016 from their cellars for us. Now with years of perfect cellaring, this wine is entering its prime. The tannins have resolved into silk, revealing complex notes of dried cherry, tar, leather, and cocoa. It is a harmonious, complete, and utterly classic Barolo that is ready to drink tonight. A rare chance to enjoy a perfectly aged wine without having to wait."
The 2016 vintage in Barolo is considered one of the greats of the modern era, drawing comparisons to legendary years like 1978 and 1989. It was defined by a long, cool, and perfectly paced growing season. There were no heat spikes, allowing the Nebbiolo grapes to ripen slowly and completely, developing deep flavors while retaining vibrant acidity.
The resulting wines are masterpieces of balance. They possess intense aromatics, profound depth of fruit, and a powerful yet refined tannic structure. While many Barolos can be either fruity or structured, the 2016s have it all. They are built for the long haul and represent the pinnacle of classical, age-worthy Barolo.
While single-vineyard Barolos showcase a specific place, a "classico" Barolo is an exercise in the art of blending. This wine is sourced from several top vineyard sites, including plots in the renowned village of Castiglione Falletto.
Known as the heart of the Barolo region, Castiglione Falletto provides the wine's powerful structure and aromatic complexity. Its soils are a mix of the two major types, giving the wines both elegance and immense aging potential.
By blending grapes from different sites, the winemaker can create a more complete and balanced wine that represents the vintage as a whole. The final blend achieves a harmony that a single site might not, balancing fruit, structure, and aroma into a seamless whole.
Don't be fooled by Nebbiolo's pale, garnet color; this is a grape of immense power and complexity. Its name is thought to derive from "nebbia," the Italian word for the fog that blankets the Langhe hills during harvest. It is a difficult grape to cultivate, demanding specific hillside exposures to ripen fully.
Nebbiolo is defined by its signature "tar and roses" aromatics, high acidity, and formidable tannins. This powerful structure is precisely what gives Barolo its legendary age-worthiness, allowing the wines to evolve for decades, softening and revealing incredible nuances of truffle, leather, and dried flowers.
Within Barolo, a great debate defines the style of many wines: the traditionalist versus the modernist approach. Understanding this helps explain the wonderful diversity found from bottle to bottle.
This Barolo 2016 is just one chapter in our Discovery Series. Each bottle is a story—a place, a person, and a flavor we believe in. Explore the full series, or dive deeper into the world of Bordeaux.