Reverdito, Barolo 2020

Notes from John Gilman: "Michele Reverdito makes his old school, blended bottling of Barolo from his vineyard holdings in the townships of La Morra and Serralunga. As I have mentioned in the past, the Reverdito vineyards are farmed organically and Michele ferments with native yeasts and raises his wine in four thousand liter, old oak botti in the classical manner. His 2019 Barolo comes in at 14.5 percent octane in this vintage and delivers a fine, deep bouquet of cherries, gamebird, incipient notes of camphor, a beautiful base of soil, just a hint of road tar, woodsmoke, a touch of anise and a topnote of rose petals. On the palate the wine is deep, focused, full-bodied and complex, with a great core of sappy fruit, superb soil signature and grip, firm, chewy tannins, good acids and excellent balance on the long, precise and very promising finish. This is great classically-styled Barolo. Sustainably-Farmed 100% Nebbiolo. Hand-harvested in 20 kg crates; grapes de-stemmed; wild yeast fermentation in stainless steel; aged in 4,000 liter barrels for 24 months. Michele Reverdito is a "rising star" winemaker in Barolo. His winery is based in La Morra, a hill town that sits high above Barolo. Michele Reverdito works with two acres of Dolcetto d'Alba, two of Barbera d'Alba, five of Lange Nebbiolo and eighteen acres of Barolo, all stretching along the steep road to Verduno in the villages of La Morra and Serralunga d'Alba. Farming is sustainable, which for this estate bans the use of all herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Only traditional copper and sulfur are used sparingly to prevent mildew. Michele prides himself on using traditional, "old school," methods to make his wines. These include hand-harvesting and sorting, the use of wild yeasts and 4,000 liter barrels to age the wines with the more recent introduction of clay amphoras for Langhe Nascetta and Verduno Pelaverga."