Vietti, Barolo (Piedmont, Italy) 2012

When tasting this blind in a lineup of 117 Barolos on May 11, 2016, I knew immediately that it was a wine from a great site and a top producer, and that it would prove to be expensive…which would make me sad.  All of that proved true, which is a mixed blessing.  Vietti’s 2012 Brunate is a wine of supreme complexity and class, with essentially perfect proportionality and balance.  Sweet but also savory, and soft but still structured, it is highly expressive — but even more impressive on account of its detail and precision.