This traditionally-styled wine is among the most aromatically expressive and exciting of the hundreds of 2009 Barolo bottlings that I tasted in May of 2013. Scents of ripe red berries are enveloped with complex nuances of damp earth, cured meat and wild mushrooms. The wine could hardly be more open and engaging at this point, but it also shows ample acidity and structure to hold it together over time. There is a question regarding whether the earthy components will overtake the fruit, but that may be a moot point–in view of how difficult this will be to resist in the early years after its release.
