2020 Fratelli Alessandria Barolo Gramolere, Piedmont

Picture yourself savoring a glass of this exquisite wine, as a harmonious blend of macerated cherries and savory roasted mushrooms dance on your palate. The umami-rich flavors intertwine with dried flowers and shaved rosewood, creating a sophisticated and alluring bouquet. This wine is a true embodiment of elegance, with a presence that effortlessly captivates your senses. Drink Now - 2040

95 points Wine Enthusiast

Beautiful nose here, with spiced cherries, raspberry bush, fine cedar, cloves and dried rose hips on offer. Minerals, too. So refined and delicious with polished tannins. Medium body. Very well made and already very attractive, but better after 2026.

94 points James Suckling 

Gramolere comes from Monforte d’Alba, and you feel that shift immediately. Compared to the perfume and silk of Verduno, this is darker, firmer and more structured, though Fratelli Alessandria still manages to keep a sense of elegance running through it. Vittore Alessandria has a gift for preserving site character without overworking the wines, and the 2020 captures both the power of Monforte and the freshness of the vintage.

The nose opens deep and layered. Black cherry, damson plum and dried raspberry sit alongside liquorice root, clove and crushed rose petals. With air, more savoury notes start to emerge, forest floor, tea leaf, iron and something faintly smoky that gives the wine a brooding edge.

There’s real grip here. Tannins arrive firm and chalky, wrapping tightly around the fruit, while acidity cuts through and keeps everything alive and energetic. It feels compact right now, but there’s plenty underneath, dark fruit, spice and mineral notes stretching out through a long, structured finish.

This absolutely comes alive with rich, earthy food. Braised beef cheek with rosemary and anchovy would be superb, but it’s equally compelling with chestnut and porcini pasta, black truffle polenta or charred radicchio with balsamic and parmesan. The wine’s savoury depth seems to pull more flavour from everything around it.

Still young and tightly wound, it really benefits from a decant if opening now, though it has the structure to evolve comfortably over the next fifteen to twenty years.

There’s a seriousness here, but also precision, a Barolo with real structure and tension, built for patience rather than instant gratification.