2022 Luigi Baudana Serralunga D'Alba Barolo, Piedmont

A bright medium ruby hue, the 2022 Barolo Del Comune Di Serralunga D’Alba delivers appealing intensity while remaining pure and lifted. Aromas of ripe cherry, pie spice, crushed flowers, and subtle licorice emerge from the glass. Medium-bodied, it fills the palate with silky tannins, refreshing acidity, and a lingering finish with a gentle citrus oil nuance.

94 points Jeb Dunnuck

This wine lifts with a grace and purity that sets the tone immediately, mixed red fruits spanning fresh to dried with a quality and clarity that needs no explanation. The palate follows with tart red fruits swimming alongside sweet spices and plump, cooked red plums, a touch of fine herbs threading through and keeping everything focused. Serralunga elegance wearing its very best. Cellar Selection.

94 points Wine Enthusiast

Luigi Baudana is one of the smallest and most distinctive estates in Serralunga d’Alba, the Barolo village renowned for Nebbiolo with structure and staying power. Luigi and Fiorina Baudana built the domaine around their tiny vineyard holdings before handing its stewardship to the Vajra family in 2009. The Vajras wisely kept Luigi Baudana as a separate identity, preserving both the wines and their unmistakably Serralunga personality. This bottling is a particularly good introduction before stepping up to the individual Baudana and Cerretta crus.

Serralunga sits on the eastern side of the Barolo zone, where ancient calcareous marl and sandstone soils typically produce Nebbiolo with firm tannins and a darker savoury character. The hot, exceptionally dry 2022 season delivered ripe fruit and concentration, but these structured sites were well placed to handle the warmth. The result has the muscle of Serralunga without quite the formidable architecture of Cerretta, making it the more approachable member of the trio.

Bright garnet ruby, with Morello cherry, redcurrant and raspberry followed by rose and violet. Blood orange provides freshness, while liquorice, fennel seed and black tea gradually introduce a savoury edge. The palate is medium to full bodied, with ripe red cherry held by firm, finely chalky tannins. Orange peel, anise and a little tobacco appear through the middle before a persistent, dry finish of cherry, tea and earthy spice.

Tajarin with porcini and sage would be terrific, alongside veal cotoletta, duck and mushroom agnolotti, lamb with rosemary or baked polenta with taleggio and mushrooms. Our pick is the tajarin, generously covered with porcini and finished with brown butter. Barolo will take care of everything else.

Cellaring: Drink from 2028 to 2042.