Aldo Conterno Barolo Vigna Cicala 2001

WS: 94 RP: 92 ST: 95 Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Nov/Dev 04 (139) Medium red. Quintessential Barolo perfume: minerals, tobacco, underbrush, tar, licorice, gunflint. Then wonderfully rich and seamless in the mouth, with superb concentration and purity of flavor. Spicy red fruits emerged with aeration. Comes across, atypically, as less clenched in the early going than the Colonnello and strikingly complex from the outset, but this is nonetheless extremely young. Finishes with extremely suave tannins and vibrant lingering fruit. Great wine in the making. 95 points. read more...Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 167, Oct 2006 (144) A dark-toned hue of ruby with violet highlights, the 2001 Barolo Cicala suggests new oak and spices on the nose, then opens to reveal a very complete and multi-dimensional wine that offers sensations of ripe dark cherries, minerals, menthol, tar, licorice and violets wrapped around a structured, masculine frame. A very fresh and long finish makes this a superbly well-balanced and beautiful wine. The Cicala cru gives wines of power and intensity owing to its poorer and dryer soils which contain more iron, as well as the vineyards south to south-east exposure. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2021. 92 points. Wine Spectator, Oct 2005 (115) Loads of plum, berry and licorice character with hints of new wood. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a long, rich finish. Beauty here. Tight and compacted. Lots going on here. Give it time. Best after 2008. 800 cases made. 94 points.    (hide)

February 2009

Rating: 94/100 - As reviewed by Wine Spectator on 10/15/05

Rating: 95/100 - As reviewed by Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar on Nov-04

Rating: 92/100 - As reviewed in Wine Advocate # 167 on Oct-06