2014 Poderi Aldo Conterno, Barolo, Bussia

Cherry and plum fruit highlight this rich red, with supporting notes of vanilla, toast, blueberry, iron and tobacco. Brooding tannins mark the finish, yet this has all the elements. Best from 2024 through 2042. BS

On the nose this may not be a dramatic wine, but it's fresh and floral. It has a quiet confidence that is missing in many of the 2014 Barolos. On the palate, the turbocharge.r kicks in. The wine's impressive tannic power leaves most of the competition behind it, but there's real finesse at the long finish.

Poderi Aldo Conterno's 2014 Barolo Bussia is a transparent wine, and I don't mean to use that word to describe the wine's appearance or its light color saturation. This Barolo is transparent in terms of its elegance and fragility. The wine offers a silky, fine texture that acts as a springboard to aromas of dried blueberry, cassis, menthol, herb and dried ginger. These aromas are ethereal and fleeting. This Barolo sees 26 months in oak and completes its final stage of integration in stainless steel before bottling. This vintage saw longer maceration times, up to six weeks in the case of this Barolo. That extended time on the skins is meant to protect the wine against the fragile nature of the vintage. A fresh and fruit-filled mouthfeel makes for an open and immediate wine.