Like Burgundy, Barolo is such a well-developed, carefully mapped wine zone that specific villages are identified with certain styles of wine. Burgundy aficionados identify Chambolle-Musigny, for example, for the most perfumed and silky Pinot Noirs; Gevrey-Chambertin for a deeper, more ‘masculine’ take; and so on. Barolo devotees look to the village of Serralunga for brooding, mineral ferocity; Monforte for sheer depth; and La Morra and Verduno for the most finessed and fragrant takes on the Nebbiolo grape.
Verduno, tucked in the northwest corner of the Barolo appellation, is on the right side of fashion these days—not just because finesse is in fashion but because Verduno’s high-profile estates have been on fire of late. Castello di Verduno, G.B. Burlotto, and today’s producer, Alessandria, continue to craft ever-more-thrilling wines, raising the profile of Grand Cru-level vineyard sites such as “Monvigliero” and today’s source, “San Lorenzo.” These neighboring vineyards are the epicenter of Verduno Barolo and Alessandria’s 2013 demonstrates why: it’s a pitch-perfect example of how a wine can be powerful without being heavy. The best part? You can enjoy some now as well as later—so stock up!
Essentially an ‘extension’ of the La Morra vineyard area, with similar southeastern/southern exposures in the best sites, Verduno’s ‘cru’ vineyards are headlined by the iconic “Monvigliero” (which Alessandria owns a piece of) and its immediate neighbor, “San Lorenzo.” The San Lorenzo site is much less uniform in terms of its exposure, essentially wrapping around a hillside and thus facing just about every direction possible, but of course the best parcels face southeast/south. Alessandria’s plot in San Lorenzo, planted to vines averaging about 30 years of age, has a full-south exposure and a relatively high altitude, with a good concentration of limestone mixed with clay. The soil/exposure mix creates a wine of great ripeness and fruit expression but also floral aromatics and delicacy/focus.
Spanning just 12 hectares of vineyard, most of them in Verduno, the estate has been in the Alessandria family since 1870; these days it’s Gian Battista Alessandria running the show, with help from his wife, Flavia, brother, Alessandro, and son, Vittore. We spent some time with Vittore when he visited California last year, which was our first encounter with this 2013, a vintage Antonio Galloni of Vinous said produced wines of “sublime finesse and elegance.” I couldn’t think of a better example than this edition of San Lorenzo: Alessandria’s production is resolutely ‘traditional’: fermentation of the wine was inoculated with native yeasts only, then the wine was aged in large (20-40 hectoliter) Slavonian oak casks for a full three years before bottling. Then there’s a minimum of a year in bottle before release into the market.
In the glass, Alessandria’s 2013 “San Lorenzo” shines a medium garnet-red moving to brick orange at the rim, with a refined and inviting aromatic profile: Morello cherries, black and red plum, raspberry, warm spices, aromatic herbs, rose petals, and sweet tobacco all jump from the glass. In typical Alessandria fashion, the wine is medium-bodied, silky, and focused, with fresh acidity and firm but fine-grained tannins. There’s no question it will age 10+ years or more if kept well, but after 45 minutes in a decanter it offers up plenty to love right now. Most of all it’s the balance of this wine that makes me believe in it long-term, not any over-abundance of ‘structure’ (a polite way of saying tannin, which isn’t necessarily an indicator of ageability). Serve this in your most elegant Burgundy stems at 60 degrees (a little cooler is always my preference with young Barolo) with pork or beef off the grill swimming in its own juices. Barolo’s a year-round wine for me. How about you?
