Our tasting impressions
This is an amazing your Barolo Riserva. Showing more ripe fruit than the 2013 did at this juncture, it's really about the structure right now. Yet, the overall impression is a very complete wine. So much so that I re-checked the bottle to make sure it wasn't 2016. The intensity is remarkable. I will bury some of these in my cellar and wake up every morning, thankful they are there.
About this wine
Sergio makes this wine only in the best vintages. He uses only his best grapes from Bricco Rocca, from highest on the slope and that get the most sun exposure. Small tank fermentation, manual punch-downs and no temperature control. Aged for 2 years in steam bent barriques, to prevent the addition of toasty oak flavors and aromas.
He named it Fico (fig) for the single fig tree that sits in the vineyard . His parents kept the tree because it provides shade to maintain some water in the vineyard in the summer. Most of the vines are almost 70 years old with others added in 1975 and 2000.
Less than 900 bottles are produced.
About the grape
Nebbiolo, the name believed to be derived from nebbia, Italian for fog, is a grape with one of the most protracted maturation cycles. It buds in early spring and ripens late fall (when the winter nebbia from the Alps reaches the vineyards).
Nebbiolo vines tend to grow upwardly with abandon, so management is essential to limit grape production and channel energy to them. They also are very particular about where they will thrive, which is why Nebbiolo is seldom found outside of Piedmont. Even there, it only is successful when planted on south facing slopes (much sun is needed for ripening), at elevations between 250 and 450 meters (lower there is too much frost exposure, higher the grapes won’t ripen).
Wines from Nebbiolo usually are pale-colored, high in acidity and very tannic. Common flavor descriptors are rose and tar. They tend to be highly aromatic.
About the vintage
2015 presented many extremes including an arctic winter and a scorching July. Overall, fine, very ripe fruit was harvested. Talented winemakers were able to manage challenges of low acidity.
Suggested Glassware: Grassl Cru
Sergio Molino is a highly respected consulting enologist in Piedmont and throughout Italy. This success emboldened him to resurrect his own family's farm and to produce wine from his own vines. The picturesque vineyard sits just below the church of Annunziata.
The Molino family vineyards, bottled under the Ernesto Molino label, as homage to Sergio’s father, lies within the Barolo commune of La Morra, at the base of the hill that leads up to town, just across the border from Castiglione Falletto. Locations such as these, low down on a slope, were considered less desirable but with global warming, the cool air that settles here at night now helps to moderate the heat and add freshness to the wines. Being lower down on a slope also helps alleviate hydric stress (when plants release more water than they absorb) - part of the double whammy climate change is inflicting on Piedmont.
Sergio has a delicate touch in the cellar, preferring to allow the vineyards to speak for themselves. With only a single Barolo vineyard, and a total of just 2.5 hectares under vine, his is a true micro-winery. His wines are distinct, traditional expressions of Piedmont’s grapes, produced with a technical precision honed over decades of consulting work. His tiny quantities of unique wines are an insider’s secret because Sergio is too busy to promote his own wines and is careful not to outshine his clients.
