Vinous

92

The 2020 Barolo Badarina opens with crushed flowers, spice, mint and dried herbs. This mid-weight, rather nervy Barolo offers a good bit of aromatic intensity to match its taut frame. I admire its energy and somewhat quirky personality. Bright acids pull it all together on the finish. This is an especially savory style that is quite typical of the site.

91

The 2020 Barolo Badarina Vigna Regnola offers more textural intensity and a darker profile than the straight Badarina, but beyond that, both wines are marked by soaring, floral/savory aromatics and mid-weight structure. This is a solid wine, even if it feels a bit forced stylistically.

90

The 2020 Barolo Bricco Ambrogio is a dense, imposing wine. It posseses good depth but doesn’t quite have the sense of movement and energy that runs through the best wines here. As a result, the 2020 feels a bit monolithic. Dark cherry fruit, spice, dried herbs and menthol build into the somber, somewhat virile finish.

92

The 2020 Barolo is laced with crushed flowers, bright red-toned fruit and sweet spice overtones. Medium in body and pliant, with tons of allure, the 2020 is a fine choice for drinking now and over the next handful of years. There’s plenty to like here.

90

The 2019 Barolo Badarina opens with a burst of black cherry, plum and chocolate. This dark, potent Barolo packs plenty of punch. It’s not exaclty subtle but will please lovers of this style. There is no shortage of intensity here.

91

The 2019 Barolo Bricco Ambrogio is the most nuanced of these three wines from Bruna Grimaldi. It offers plenty of impact and overt richness, but also quite a bit of aromatic nuance to balance things out. Give the tannins a bit of time to soften.

86

The 2019 Barolo Camilla is soft and fruity in its first impression, but then dominated by soaring tannins that totally attenuate the mid-palate and finish.

92

The 2018 Barolo Badarina is laced with hints of rosewater, mint, sweet red cherry, anise and orange peel. This mid-weight Barolo impresses with its sensual aromatics, depths mid-weight structure and fine balance. It is one of the best wines I have tasted from Bruna Grimaldi.

92

Grimaldi’s 2018 Barolo Bricco Ambrogio is deep, pliant and super-expressive. There’s a terrific immediacy in this supple, mid-weight Barolo. Bright red cherry, raspberry, floral accents abound. The Bricco Ambrogio is not terribly complex, but it sure is charming. Best of all, 2018 will drink well right out of the gate.

90

The 2018 Barolo Camilla is soft, fruity and very easy to like. A burst of ripe red and plush berry fruit, orange peel, spice and lavender, emerge in this floral, fruity Barolo. Silky tannins wrap around soft contours in this supple Barolo. The Camilla is very nicely done, especially for the year.

86

The 2011 Barolo Badarina emerges from a mostly east-facing site in Serralunga. Sweet red cherry, blood orange and spice notes are pushed forward. The 2011 is forward and supple, which makes it a good choice for drinking over the next few years. Drink 2015-2020.

88

The 2011 Barolo Bricco Ambrogio is soft, pliant and open-knit, as the wines from this site in Roddi tend to be. Dark stone fruits, new leather and spices meld together in a mid-weight, gracious Barolo with lovely overall balance. Drink this attractive, fruit-forward Barolo over the next few years. This is one of the best wines I have tasted so far from Bruna Grimaldi. Drink 2015 -2022.

88

(from vines in Diano and Roddi; bottled in April of this year): Good bright, full red. Ripe, liqueur-like aromas of blackberry, licorice and spices. At once dense and juicy, with lovely penetrating acidity (6.1 grams per liter, according to Bruna Grimaldi) giving shape to the slightly rustic but rich flavors of spices, licorice and herbs. Finishes with sweet tannins and lingering hints of smoke and game. This barbera went through its malolactic fermentation in stainless steel, then spent more than a year in tonneaux. Carrying alcohol near 15% but comes across as nicely balanced. “Two thousand eleven was fantastic or barbera,” noted Grimaldi.

89

The 2009 Barolo Badarina is another attractive Barolo with good near-term appeal. Plum, nutmeg, dark cherries, licorice and menthol meld together nicely in the glass. There is an attractive earthy, ferrous quality to the 2009 that is impossible to miss. The tannins are firm but also very nicely balanced. This is a terrific showing in a challenging vintage. Drink 2013-2017.

92

(15% alcohol): Good medium red. Deeply pitched, liqueur-like aromas of cocoa, coffee, smoke, nuts and underbrush, with a balsamic nuance adding appeal. Big, plump and rich, boasting substantial palate presence to the sappy, seamless raspberry and strawberry flavors. Very sweet and filled in but this is the least evolved of the three 2009 Barolos here. Finishes with noteworthy energy and lift, the serious fine-grained tannins saturating the cheek and gums. This makes the Bricco Ambrogio seem dry by comparison.

92+

(this 1.5-hectare plot, planted on shallow white soil at a high altitude of 420 meters in Serralunga, is the estate’s “original” vineyard, where Bruna Grimaldi’s grandfather was born; the only Barolo for which Grimaldi uses cappello sommerso for extraction): Medium-deep red. Complex aromas of raspberry, truffle, smoke and underbrush. Large-scaled, concentrated and rich, offering powerful, lightly medicinal flavors of raspberry and strawberry complicated by licorice and menthol. This very young wine finishes dry and broad, with serious granular tannins calling for extended aging. The Badarina spends a full 36 months in oak and is released a year later than the other Barolos of its vintage. (Grimaldi kept a bit of this fruit in both 2010 and 2009 to make a reserve bottling, but the 2009 will not be released until 2015.).

90

Good medium red. Aromas of redcurrant, plum, spices, earth and menthol, along with a balsamic note and a slight warmth. Less vivacious and primary than the 2010, but plush and fine-grained, showing a liqueur-like ripeness to its sweet red fruit flavors. Finishes broad and long, with a serious dusting of tannins and notes of roasted meat, earth and spices. In a plush style (it reminded me a bit of an old-style earthy Burgundy) but a tad dry on the back.

89

The 2009 Barolo Bricco Ambrogio has a little more depth and density, along with slightly fresher flavors, but, it, too looks to be suited for near-term drinking. Dried cherries, savory herbs, mint and crushed flowers meld together nicely in the glass. The finish is long, sweet and very nicely perfumed, with a nice sense of grip. Drink 2013-2017.

91+

(from 40-year-old vines on marly soil on the Roddi side of the hill close to Grinzane Cavour): Medium red. Highly aromatic nose combines candied red cherry, strawberry, botanical herbs and spices. A step up in inner-mouth tension from the Camilla, offering juicy, intense flavors of red fruits and spices lifted by a floral perfume. Sweet, fine-grained wine with a brisk, juicy, very persistent finish featuring lingering aromatic character. Incidentally, Grimaldi told me she’d rather drink her Barolos with cheese or chocolate than with meat.

88

Moderately saturated bright red. Musky red berries, coffee and tobacco on the slightly liqueur-like nose; offers less lift than the 2010 version. Softer and rounder than the 2010 on the palate too, with slightly rustic flavors of leather and underbrush. Less perfumed than the younger vintage. This will offer early pleasure.

88

Dried red cherries, flowers, spices, mint and anise waft from the glass in a delicate, perfumed, pretty 2009 Barolo Camilla with lovely depth and balance. The Camilla is a soft, hushed Barolo to drink now and over the next few years. The style is delicate, ethereal and pretty. Drink 2013-2017.

89

(bottled in August of this year; “our regular Barolo,” says Grimaldi; made from 15-year-old vines in a vineyard in Grinzane Cavour): Palish medium red. Aromas of strawberry, botanical herbs and leather, plus a whiff of barnyard. A silky-sweet midweight in the mouth, with raspberry and licorice flavors complicated by hints of hazelnut and exotic white fruits. Finishes with fine-grained, rather soft tannins.

87

(14.5% alcohol; bottled in August of 2013; from vines in Diano and Grinzane Cavour; done in stainless steel): Good bright, dark red. Blackberry, raspberry and wild herbs on the nose.O?ers good weight and juiciness but shows a slightly rustic quality to its dried herb and chocolate flavors. Finishes with substantial, slightly dry tannins and a bit of alcoholic warmth.

88

(from vines up to 40 years of age, in Diano d’Alba; essentially made like the barbera here): Good bright medium red. Plum, redcurrant, botanical herbs, smoke and dried flowers on the nose, along with a distinct leathery element. On the rustic side ut sweet and scented, with flavors of tobacco and dried flowers dominating. The broad, building finish features fine grained tannins and good length. Very nebbiolo.

87

The 2006 Barbera d’Alba Superiore Scassa is a plump, juicy wine loaded with dark red fruit framed by sweet French oak. The wine offers good depth and persistence in an affable style perfect for drinking over the next few years. Drink 2013+.