Unmistakably Barolo, unexpectedly hedonistic, undeniably great value
We've never offered any of the wines of Damilano before, but when we tasted their 2010 Liste Barolo last week we couldn't resist. The perfume and spice made it outstanding, even among its exalted peers from the brilliant 2010 Barolo vintage.
The Liste vineyard may not be as famous as some of its close neighbours such as Cerequio, but that is partly because it is divided between only three producers. Half is in the hands of Damilano; the vineyard straddles the ridge below San Pietro with both east and south-east facing slopes. If you've ever driven along the Barolo-Alba road, you've seen the vineyard. The chalk and limestone soils tend to produce a particularly structured, long-lived wine, which is why the Damilanos release their Liste a year later than their other Barolo crus, even the Cannubi - which is why you're only seeing the 2010 Liste now.
As for Damilano themselves, they may be new to us but they are no johnny-come-latelies; the estate was founded in the 1890s, and has been in the hands of the same family ever since. Each generation has brought something new, from canny vineyard acquisitions , to improvements in the vineyard, the cellar, and vinification. The current (fourth) generation of siblings Guido, Mario and Paolo manage their vineyards with careful and almost exclusively organic practices. /NT
'The 2010 Barolo Liste is utterly seductive and charming from start to long finish. This wine awards a high pleasure quota with the proverbial opulence and hedonistic plumpness that is not easy to achieve with the austere Nebbiolo grape. The Liste vineyard delivers the natural characteristics that are appropriate for dark and shapely wines. Thick extraction is followed by dark fruit, pressed blackberry, exotic spice, cola and balsam herb. It ages for two years in oak and two years in bottle, but it needs more time to lose its baby fat. Drink this bottle after 2018. 95 points.' - Monica Larner, eRobertPaker.com, June 2015
Offered subject to remaining unsold for shipment late spring 2016
