Description
La Briccolina di Tiziano Grasso, Barolo “Briccolina”
Italian-focused SommSelect subscribers should be intimately familiar with this wine by now: We’ve featured every release since it became available in the US. In addition to being a remarkably finessed, aromatically symphonic Barolo that fuses old- and new-generation sensibilities, it has a backstory that chronicles one family’s century-long commitment to the “Briccolina” vineyard, in the village of Serralunga d’Alba.
In a few parts of the world (Burgundy most famously), certain plots of vines are positioned in such a way that they achieve “hallowed ground” status. For generations, the Grasso family has lived at the top of the Briccolina hill and farmed vines there, only to sell their grapes to an assortment of famous neighbors. Namesake Tiziano Grasso had a day job at the Fontanafredda winery back when, and today his son, Daniele, works at another Barolo stalwart, Batasiolo. But Daniele felt the time had come to put his family’s name on a bottle and, starting with the 2012 vintage, he began holding back some of his best old-vine fruit from Briccolina for a wine the Grassos could call their own. That 2012 “debuted” in 2015, and with each new vintage, this wine has not only displayed incredible consistency but cemented its reputation as a must-have collectible. It’s not yet in the high three-digit stratosphere of many contemporaries, so take up to six bottles and enjoy one of the greatest value investments in wine today.
The analog for what Daniele Grasso spearheaded would be a long-established grower in a Burgundy Grand Cru deciding to craft some of his own wine—you’re starting on third base, but the wine’s a home run. As noted above, there’s nothing new about the La Briccolina farm, just the La Briccolina label. The Grasso family house is perched at the top of “Briccolina,” above a perfect south-facing amphitheater of vines that eventually tilts westward, as so many Serralunga crus do. Briccolina is situated along an undulating slope that also includes “Ornato” (made famous by Pio Cesare) and “Falletto” (Bruno Giacosa), and for many years the Grassos sold their fruit to others, while Tiziano worked at Fontanafredda. Starting in 2012, Daniele Grasso made a strict selection from the family’s 5.5 hectares, sourcing from 50-year-old Nebbiolo vines to craft about 3,000 bottles. Not only is this wine a gem, it’s a rare one—perhaps as time goes on, Daniele will keep more of the fruit for himself, but as of now, less than a hectare’s production goes into the Tiziano Grasso bottling.
This is a ‘traditional’ style of Barolo in the sense that it was aged two years in large (20-hectoliter) Slavonian oak botti, but this wine stands out as an exceptionally refined, quite polished example of Serralunga Barolo. Conventional wisdom on this village is that it produces the burliest, most tannic examples of Barolo, but this wine carries its considerable power with grace: the tannins are extremely fine grained and the fruit flavors clean and perfumed. As I said above, it out-Burgundied the Burgundies during our tasting (although ultimately it is a bigger, darker-toned wine all around).
In the glass, the ’17 is a deep garnet moving to pink at the rim, with a highly perfumed nose of black and red cherry, black raspberry, plum, blood orange peel, pipe tobacco, fresh roses and violets, underbrush, and freshly turned earth. As has become the norm, it has a magical combination of power and lift: Whereas many Serralunga wines are forbiddingly tannic in their youth, this bottling is always very bright and lifted. I’ve compared the Grasso wines to those of the late Bruno Giacosa, which I don’t do lightly, but that is indeed the level at which they operate. Although this is a wine that will age 15-20 years with ease, you could also derive an immense amount of enjoyment from it now, provided you decant it a good hour beforehand. Serve it in large Burgundy stems at 60-65 degrees with a saucy, fatty porchetta, and don’t worry if there’s somehow some leftover wine—this one only improves over the course of several days open. It’s a special-occasion wine that will never let you down. Enjoy!
