Vallana's 2018 Boca is an old-school, super-classic wine. Firm tannins wrap around a core of macerated dark cherry, cinnamon, licorice, dried herbs and menthol. The 2018 needs a good decant. Readers will find a sturdy...

The most powerful of the bunch is the Pio Cesare 2020 Barolo Ornato. This is a structured wine with firm tannins and dense fruit that falls on the darker side of the spectrum with blackberry and damson plum. You also get...

The 2020 Barolo Monvigliero is a very pretty, ethereal wine. Crushed flowers, mint, bright, red-toned fruit, dried herbs and spice are nicely lifted. This pretty, nuanced Barolo is very classy, but also on the lighter...

Dried flowers, pot pourri nuances on the nose - so aromatic and perfumed. Dried fruit, cherries and cranberries but with baked and stewed red berry fruit too and fresh red cherries alongside caramel, coffee and dark...

The Giacomo Conterno 2020 Barolo Arione strikes on the darker and more saturated side of the Nebbiolo spectrum. This vineyard site in Serralunga d'Alba reveals dark fruit and scorched earth, but those baritone aromas are...

The 2021 Barolo Cicala is packed with dark fruit, iron, gravel, incense, tobacco, dried herbs and chocolate. Time in the glass brings out a more mineral dimension, but the 2021 is a decidedly rich, ample Cicala. Even so...