2020 Fratelli Alessandria Barolo del Comune di Verduno, Piedmont

The wine strikes a harmonious blend of lifted red fruits and deep macerated black cherries, marrying high tones with rich bass notes. A savory embrace circles the fruit, maintaining balance, while fine tannins lay the groundwork for graceful aging. This is a wine poised for evolution, its intricate layers promising to unfold beautifully over time. Drink 2025 - 2045

94 points Wine Enthusiast

A tense and racy Barolo that offers plenty of red fruit, spices, dried citrus peel and hints of crushed stones and nutmeg. Medium-bodied, dense and structured on the palate with velvety tannins. I like the mineral backbone and lingering spicy finish. Better from 2027.

92 points James Suckling

Barolo del Comune di Verduno is one of the purest snapshots of what makes this village so beloved. Fratelli Alessandria blends fruit from several Verduno sites here, capturing the lifted aromatics, finesse and spice that set the area apart from the broader, more muscular styles found elsewhere in Barolo. Under Vittore Alessandria, the wines have become benchmarks for elegance without losing depth.

The 2020 vintage feels wonderfully open and expressive already. Red cherry, blood orange and wild strawberry lift straight from the glass, wrapped in rose petal, white pepper and dried herbs. There’s a brightness and perfume here that feels unmistakably Verduno, but beneath it sits a deeper earthy note that slowly unfolds with air.

Everything moves with grace rather than weight. Tannins are fine and chalky, giving shape without hard edges, while acidity keeps the wine energetic and flowing. Layers of tea leaf, spice and crushed stone build gradually, carrying through a long, savoury finish with lingering floral notes.

This is one of those wines that turns simple food into something memorable. Tajarin with butter and sage is perfect, but it’s equally brilliant with mushroom and taleggio risotto, duck ragù or roasted carrots with labneh and hazelnuts. Even a wedge of aged parmesan and warm focaccia somehow feels elevated next to it.

Approachable now with a decant, though it has enough structure and balance to age beautifully over the next decade and beyond.

There’s a lightness of touch here that makes it incredibly compelling, a Barolo more about detail, perfume and persistence than sheer force.