Tom Farnan

9.6

This is exceptional wine, the best example of Barbera I have had. Savoury, slightly bitter, aromatic, slightly tannic, some acid. Perfect with a puttanesca sauce. — a day ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Served to me double-blind at Tasting Group. The wine appears a deep garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears and no signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with ripe bramble fruits: a mix of blackberries and raspberries with Morello cherry, roses, tar, talcum powder, dried herbs, and gravelly soil. On the palate, the wine is dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and delicious. Alcohol is medium+. Initial conclusions: this could be Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Pinot Noir or Grenache from Italy or France. Because of the high tannin and talcum powder/tar/roses combo (and the utter lack of staining), my final conclusion is: Nebbiolo; from Italy; from Piemonte; Barolo…from Monforte d’Alba. I chose 2016 because it shows good great balance of structure and fruit. Ooooof…that was too close.

“La Villa” is Fratelli Seghesio’s most precious wine and until now, I can only ever recall drinking their Barolo “classico” and Barbera d’Alba and only on a few occasions. Believe it or not, “La Villa” is the oldest, single MGA bottling from any producer in Castelletto. The name “La Villa” is an old name for an area within Castelletto when it was once a commune all to itself. The distinguishing feature of “La Villa” is the eponymous ridge that runs perpendicular with Collaretto and Vigna Rionda to the east, across the stream of Talloria di Castiglione. The vines facing south are dedicated to their Nebbiolo while the vines facing north are predominately Barbera and Dolcetto. A very tasty Barolo. Drink now through 2035. — 5 months ago

Emily

10

This drink reminds me of an amaro. Sweet and pungent. I had it with coke and it mixed well with some ice. — a year ago

Ted

9.2

One of my favorite regions. Wine was gorgeous. Not overpowering in the least but I did decant for about an hour. — 11 days ago

with Jeni

Tom Casagrande

9.1

I wish Barbarescos would come with a back label telling you how tannic the wine is, kind of like Alsace now does the sweetness bar. Many of the less expensive ‘19s are drinking well now, but this one is quite tannic. The nose has nice cherry fruit and a leathery note. It’s got nice flavor intensity and ripeness on the palate, but then the mouth-puckering tannins hit. Needs a few more years. — 9 months ago

Sally Neal

9.1

In a word, delicious. Fruit forward. Fresh. Pairs well with basically anything and your friends that want a “white wine” will be blown away by the drink ability smoothness and freshness of this great wine. Enjoyed with parm cheese wedges, prosciutto,and some fruits as an appetizer prior to enjoying with bay sea scallops and linguini. I’m very happy I bought 3 bottles. Thank you Astor wines for suggesting it! — 3 years ago

Helen Arvanitopoulos

8.9

Absolutely amazing Barolo. Oh my. Been a while since I had suck a lovely Italian Barolo that impressed me. Plums, dark cherries and licorice. — a month ago

Joho

9.8

Headline: “damn near perfect” not dry, not bitter, not sweet, not watery, just lovely balance all around. If you’re looking for a defining characteristic it’s that there is none. Some would say the greatest designs goes unnoticed. I would also say that the greatest wines should lay in a similar vein. There is no one flavor or characteristic about it that is overpowering the rest. — 3 months ago

Matthew Doty

9.1

2021 vintage. Excellent. Right in the zone I like for Barbera or Nebbiolo — a year ago

Daniel Bloom

9.0

N: Decanted 3 hrs. Reddish brown.
Big cherry liqueur nose, chocolate, leather. the woods, autumnal spice.
I detect French barrique.
P: Classic young Barolo, lots of mouth filling , Dark cherries, cocoa, herbs, cheek gripping tannins.
You can sense the barrique but it’s not overdone. W Bolognese, it’s really nice.
My thought is that many of the ‘16’s were designed for earlier drinking, esp. w the use of barrique.
I reduced my score a couple pts. after extended time out.The fruit didn’t cover the wood. A trifle disappointed. — 2 years ago