Virna Borgogno, Barolo (Piedmont, Italy) 2015

 I have the highest respect for Virna Borgogno’s wines, and put my money where my mouth is…by buying at least one or two of her wines in her portfolio in most years, ranging from the Riserva through the cru wines and right down to the normale Barolo DOCG bottling.  This, however, is the most striking young wine I’ve ever tasted from the estate, and from a vintage that is not my favorite.  Perhaps I should write “admirable” rather than “striking,” as what is really special about this is its magical purity.  Sure, there’s an alluring sweetness to the fruit, but there is actually nothing remotely overdone about any of the wine’s components or characteristics.  The fruit got picked at just the right moment…and the wine got pulled out of barrel at just the right moment, and all the other little details were right on the button too.  As this matures and fills out with tertiary notes from bottle age, it may very well merit another point.  At the risk of lavishing too much praise on the wine, I should confess that my raw note from the first (blind) taste of it concludes with, “…a sexpot, but of the Grace Kelly variety!”