WHAT

Nebbiolo

WHEN

2018

WHERE

Vigna Rionda, Serralunga d'Alba, Barolo, Piedmont, Italy

The Canale family first planted vines in Vigna Rionda in 1934. When Ester's father died in 1963, she and her mother sold their holdings to Ester's uncle, Aldo Canale. After Aldo's son Tommaso died in 2010 with no direct heirs, Ester inherited the parcel she had been separated from for nearly five decades. Giovanni Rosso — whose family has farmed Serralunga since the 1890s — acquired these vines from Ester in 2011. Davide Rosso now runs the estate. The wine bears Ester's name. The Rosso family farms organically and vinifies in a combination of stainless steel, cement, and specially crafted French oak botti made from timber sourced in the Fontainebleau forest.

Vigna Rionda sits on the western flank of Serralunga d'Alba at 360 metres altitude, protected from cold eastern winds by the high ridge of the town, with full southern exposure — the conditions that have led wine writers to call it Barolo's equivalent of Romanée-Conti. The 2018 vintage is the finest Barolo has seen in a generation: cool nights, long ripening season, wines of extraordinary precision and structure that will develop for decades. Rose petal, dried herbs, forest berry, Marasca cherry, raspberry, licorice, menthol, and a tobacco finish. Noble tannins, bright acidity, a finish that simply does not end. Decant for at least two hours if opening now.