Il Poeta Barolo del Comune di Barolo 2018

Here’s why you need to try Il Poeta, aka our pick of the excellent 2018 vintage:

It’s rare. Not only is it a Barolo, it’s a “Barolo del Comune di Barolo,” which means is comes from the fabled, hilltop village of Barolo. (The regular Barolo region is much larger and actually encompasses 11 different villages.) You do not see these wines on your average store shelf.

It’s got quite the winemaking pedigree. Il Poeta is a collaboration between talented grower Natale Seghesio (whose nationally recognized poetry graces the label every vintage) and top Piedmont winemaker Paolo Sartirano. The grapes are handpicked and sorted, then the wine is aged 18 months in traditional Slavonian oak barrels before being bottled and gently laid down in a cellar for an additional 38 months prior to release.

Here’s Paolo on what it’s like in the glass: “Lovely scents of blackberry, wild berries and sweet cherry along with delicate notes of balsamic and truffle. It has a fine, age-worthy structure, but the wine is softer and rounder than our ‘regular’ Barolo—more concentration, more fruit, more spices and intensity. The finish is precise, harmonious and very persistent.”

Demand is very high. We can’t guarantee we’ll have this Barolo beauty in stock for very long at all. (You know what you need to do…)