Highlights: Figli Luigi Oddero Barbaresco Rombone 2016 Piedmont, Italy
I’m getting into Nebbiolo, and this is a good one. Justerini & Brooks Italian buyer Giles Burk-Gaffney is a big fan of Luigi Oddero. ‘An estate going places fast,’ is his view. ‘We believe Luigi Oddero e Figli has the potential to be one of the very great estates of the Langhe.’ On tasting this wine, I’m inclined to agree.
Figli Luigi Oddero Barbaresco Rombone 2016 Piedmont, Italy
14.5% alcohol. From 2.5 hectares of rented vines in Treiso, from a vineyard with lots of limestone in the soil. Long gentle extraction in concrete fermenters followed by ageing in large format oak (an 8500 litre botti) for 18 months. This has a wonderfully intoxicating, almost haunting nose of sweet cherries, strawberries, rose petals and dried herbs. The palate is fresh and cool, with lovely sleek red fruits and then a wall of tannin pressing in and constraining it. I love the combination of fruit (red cherries and cranberries with some sweet liqueur-like notes) with fresh acidity and tannic crunch. It’s beautifully balanced, with a good tension between the subtle, elegant fruit and the structural elements. This has a long life ahead of it. Finishes with a slight sour cherry and bitter herb note that tapers beautifully. 95/100 (£34.68 Justerini & Brooks)
