A cellar vintage
'2018s were charming, 2019s are structured. For us, it's a real cellar vintage,' says Martina Fiorino. Her brother Simone agrees. 'I guessed it would be like that because of what was happening in the vineyard. The grapes came to the winery with very thick skins. The wine was slow to develop in the cellar. That's a good sign for the future'. Martina chips in again: 'the vintage character is very savoury. The fruit and flower is less prominent. I find a lot of herb and tobacco and cured meat. The wines are very complex.'
The fortunes of family wineries can fluctuate between generations; it's always satisfying to see a new generation bring a renewed sense of focus. The Grimaldi story begins in the 1950s, but its most recent chapter is being expertly written by Simone and Martina. They have a fresh mindset and seem happy to question everything. They have adopted a mainly traditionalist approach in the winery (submerged cap fermentation, large botti) not because of any ideology, but because experimentation convinced them that was the way to go.
Camilla is their classic Barolo, blended from fruit across five villages and diverse soils (limestone, sandstone, clay, marl); it is elegant and balanced, and in 2019, marked by a lovely orange-and-tobacco character. Bricco Ambrogio comes from the only cru in the tiny commune of Roddi. 'I wouldn't say it is an easy vineyard to work, but in wet years there is little disease pressure, and in hot years it doesn't suffer from hydric stress, and that's the mark of a really good vineyard,' says Simone. The 2019 has a lovely thyme-and-cherry character. And from Serralunga, 2019 Badarina is stern and structured now, but also pure and focussed, and promises great things for the future. /NT
Offered subject to remaining unsold; available Autumn 2023
