Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva

Barolo DOCG, Piemonte

Purchased in 1980, the Falletto estate is comprised of 13 hectares (32 acres) in the commune of Serralunga d’Alba. Considered by Bruno Giacosa as the best area for producing elegant and long-lived Barolos, the Falletto vineyard is southwest facing on steep slopes of calcareaous clay soils in an amphitheater shape. The estate features a single plot known as Vigna Le Rocche, which contains the oldest vines and produces wines that are vinified and bottled separately from the rest of the estate. The Falletto wines are austere, elegant and complex on the nose, with excellent structure and suave tannins.

Tasting Notes

Intense red garnet color with orange hints. The bouquet is complex and elegant, with notes of small ripe red fruit, blackcurrants, pomegranate and raspberries. On the palate it is full bodied, with an excellent tannic structure, the tannins are silky that give an excellent persistence to the wine.

The 2017 vintage will be a year to remember for the challenges that growers faced from Mother Nature, namely hot weather and very little rain. Surprisingly, the wines produced do not show any notes of over-ripeness commonly found in a hot year. This balance in the wines is attributed to the stark temperature swings with cool summer nights tempering the hot days. The Barbaresco is fruit-driven with good acidity, and the Barolo is rich and austere.

Fermentation and Maceration: 25 days in Stainless Steel
Malolactic Fermentation: Completely Developed
Refinement: 36 months in oak + 24 months in bottle
Bottling: December 2020

Vineyard: Falletto – Le Rocche (village of Serralunga d’Alba)
Exposure: South - Southwest
Yield: 45 hL/ha
Age of Vines: 47 years old

Grape variety: Nebbiolo
Alcohol: 14.5% vol.
Total Acidity: 5.3 g/L
pH: 3.60
Total Extract: 30.5 g/L

Purchased in 1980, the Falletto estate is comprised of 13 hectares (32 acres) in the commune of Serralunga d’Alba. Considered by Bruno Giacosa as the best area for producing elegant and long-lived Barolos, the Falletto vineyard is southwest facing on steep slopes of calcareaous clay soils in an amphitheater shape. The estate features a single plot known as Vigna Le Rocche, which contains the oldest vines and produces wines that are vinified and bottled separately from the rest of the estate. The Falletto wines are austere, elegant and complex on the nose, with excellent structure and suave tannins.

Tasting Notes

Intense red garnet color. The bouquet is complex & elegant with notes of small ripe red fruit, black currants, pomegranate, and raspberries. Full-bodied on the palate with elegant, silky tannins and a long finish.

Created from a balanced growing season and a summer that was never too hot, 2016 will be a vintage to remember for the quality of the wines produced. Low humidity, no heat spikes and perfectly timed rain resulted in one of the latest harvests in the last few years. The Nebbiolo from this year is full-bodied and fragrant, and the Barolos and Barbarescos are grand wines that will only benefit from extended aging. A classic vintage of old times.

Fermentation and maceration: 25 days in stainless steel vats
Malolactic fermentation: completely developed
Refinement: 32 months in 110L Botti cask of French oak, 30 months in bottle
Bottling: July 2019

Subarea: Falletto (village of Serralunga d’Alba)
Vineyard: Le Rocche
Vineyard exposure: South/southwest
Age of vines: 45 years old
Yield: 45 hL/ha

  • Grape variety: Nebbiolo
  • Subarea: Falletto (village of Serralunga d’Alba)
  • Vineyard: Le Rocche
  • Vineyard exposure: South/southwest
  • Age of vines: 45 years old
  • Yield: 45 hL/ha
  • Harvest date: October 5, 2015
  • Fermentation and maceration: 25 days in stainless steel vats
  • Malolactic fermentation: completely developed
  • Refinement: 32 months in 110L Botti cask of French oak, 30 months in bottle
  • Bottling: July 2019
  • Alcohol: 15.0% vol.
  • Total acidity: 5.40 g/L
  • pH: 3.56
  • Total extract: 29.5 g/L
  • Optimal period for consumption: 2025-2055

Purchased in 1980, the Falletto estate is comprised of 13 hectares (32 acres) in the commune of Serralunga d’Alba. Considered by Bruno Giacosa as the best area for producing elegant and long-lived Barolos, the Falletto vineyard is southwest facing on steep slopes of calcareaous clay soils in an amphitheater shape. The estate features a single plot known as Vigna Le Rocche, which contains the oldest vines and produces wines that are vinified and bottled separately from the rest of the estate. The Falletto wines are austere, elegant and complex on the nose, with excellent structure and suave tannins.

Tasting Notes

Red garnet color with orange highlights. Elegant nose with floral notes of rose petal, as well as aromas of blackcurrants, pomegranate, and raspberries. On the palate, the wine showcases good structure, a full body, and velvety tannins.

2014 was a classic year regarding the weather and climatically balanced without any extreme heat or rain. Worthy of taking note is the temperature range during the summer between daytime highs and nighttime lows, which favored a good accumulation of aromatic notes in the Nebbiolo variety. The wines produced in this vintage are very fine and elegant, with refined fruit aromas and pronounced structure.

Fermentation and maceration: 25 days in stainless steel vats
Malolactic fermentation: completely developed
Refinement: 32 months in Botti cask of French oak, 30 months in bottle
Bottling: August 2017

Subarea: Falletto (village of Serralunga d’Alba)
Vineyard: Le Rocche
Vineyard exposure: South/southwest
Age of vines: 42 years old
Yield: 45 hL/ha

Grape variety: Nebbiolo
Alcohol: 14.5% vol.
Total acidity: 5.90 g/L
pH: 3.58
Total extract: 39 g/L
Optimal period for consumption: 2022-2045

Bruno Giacosa’s winemaking philosophy combines a respect for tradition and conservative winemaking with the selected use of modern technology to obtain the best expression of each vineyard’s terroir. He is convinced that great wines begin in the vineyard with the production of grapes cultivated by experienced growers. This belief pushes him to improve quality with every harvest. In the cellar, the goal is to produce a wine that maintains its identity from vine to bottle, so winemaking methods are traditional and in full respect of the grape’s typical characteristics.

Tasting Notes

Red garnet color with orange glints. Elegant and refined on the nose with notes of mature red fruit, rose petal and dried flowers. On the palate, the wine showcases a silky texture, full body, good acidity and velvety tannins.

The weather in 2012 resulted in a generally cooler year, with an abnormally harsh, cold winter and below average temperatures in February. Fortunately, the year also supplied plenty of water in the form of rain and snow, which gave good balance in wines produced from Nebbiolo grapes. Diligent work in the vineyards and a light touch in the winery produced wines with good drinkability already from a young age, even those traditionally more austere such as the excellent 2012 Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva.

Fermentation and maceration: 20 days in stainless steel vats
Malolactic fermentation: completely developed
Refinement: 30 months in large, 110hL Botti cask of French oak, 36 months in bottle
Bottling: July 2014

Subarea: Falletto (village of Serralunga d’Alba)
Vineyard: Le Rocche
Vineyard exposure: South
Age of vines: 38 years old
Yield: 45 hL/ha

Grape variety: Nebbiolo
Alcohol: 14.50% vol.
Total acidity: 5.70 g/L
pH: 3.63
Total extract: 30.5 g/L
Optimal period for consumption: 2019-2035

Bruno Giacosa’s winemaking philosophy combines a respect for tradition and conservative winemaking with the selected use of modern technology to obtain the best expression of each vineyard’s terroir. He is convinced that great wines begin in the vineyard with the production of grapes cultivated by experienced growers. This belief pushes him to improve quality with every harvest. In the cellar, the goal is to produce a wine that maintains its identity from vine to bottle, so winemaking methods are traditional and in full respect of the grape’s typical characteristics.

Tasting Notes

Elegant and refined on the nose with notes of mature red fruit, rose petal and dried flowers. On the palate, the wine showcases a silky texture, full body, good acidity and velvety tannins.

Fermentation and maceration: 20 days in stainless steel vats
Malolactic fermentation: completely developed
Refinement: 33 months in large, 110hL Botti cask of French oak, 27 months in bottle
Bottling: July 2014

Subarea: Falletto (village of Serralunga d’Alba)
Vineyard: Le Rocche
Vineyard exposure: South
Age of vines: 38 years old
Yield: 45 hL/ha

Grape variety: Nebbiolo
Alcohol: 14.50% vol.
Total acidity: 5.70 g/L
pH: 3.64
Total extract: 30.5 g/L

  • 2023-11-30

    97

    points

    Wine Spectator, November 2023

    "This supple red is elegant and powerful, driven by an underlying mineral element. Strawberry, cherry, rose, iron and wild thyme aromas and flavors persist, building to a long aftertaste, while dense, refined tannins lend support. Offers superb balance and length. Best from 2025 through 2045. 110 cases imported."

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  • 2023-01-11

    98

    points

    Wine Spectator, January 2023

    "This red bursts with juicy cherry, blackberry, floral and mineral aromas and flavors fused to a firm structure, with dense tannins gaining the upper hand on the finish for now. Nevertheless, there is a beam of pure cherry throughout and this finishes long, with fruit and wild herbs gracing the aftertaste. Best from 2026 through 2048. From Italy."

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  • 2021-09-30

    98

    points

    Wine Advocate, September 2021

    "The Bruno Giacosa 2016 Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche sees its fruit sourced from the oldest vines in the Falletto cru. This wine boasts all the signature touches of Serralunga d'Alba with the massive structure, density and the long aging potential that comes with Nebbiolo grown in this village. The wine spreads evenly over the palate, imparting its considerable fruit weight and generally leaving a big impact. This Barolo is really quite lovely and beautiful. The bouquet is fluid and ever-shifting, showing new sides with firm fruit, blackberry, smoke, rusty nail and mineral with every swirl of the glass. I visited this vineyard site shortly before tasting this wine and marveled at the beautiful peacocks that roam free between the rows of vines."

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  • 2020-04-29

    100

    points

    James Suckling, April 2020

    "This is the second 100-point Vigna Le Rocche, following the 2015. What the former had in intensity of fruit and transparency, this has in structure and power. The purity of fruit is sensational in this young Barolo, offering blackberries, black truffle and iron. Rust too. This is so tannic and powerful with incredible structure. This may be the most structured Barolo from Bruno Giacosa I have ever tasted as a young wine. Speechless. Full-bodied and so intense, yet it remains fresh and agile. Traditional in every sense of the world, but this is clear and clean. A classic in the making. It will be in the market January 2022. Leave this for at least six to eight years. Try in 2027."

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  • 2021-01-01

    94

    points

    Vinous, January 2021

    "The 2014 Barolo Riserva Falletto Vigna Le Rocche is a very pretty wine. Gentle and lilting in the glass, the Riserva is decidedly understated in this vintage. Sweet red cherry, mint, blood orange, spice and rose petal all open with time in the glass. In 2014, the Rocche is a mid-weight wine. It can't match the towering depth of the vintages like 1999, 2001 or 2004, but it is very nicely done and certainly a step forward. Time in the glass brings out exotic spice and citrus notes to round things out."

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  • 2019-06-28

    97

    points

    Wine Advocate, June 2019

    "This red label Riserva was made in 2012 and 2014 and will be released in 2016 and 2017. Bruna Giacosa and her team skipped over 2013 and 2015. However, the current release is the 2014 Barolo Riserva Falletto Vigna Le Rocche, and well, there's a lot to take in. Simply put, this is a beautiful wine that unfolds slowly with amazing intensity and complexity, delivering delicate notes of violets and candied orange peel that cede softly to darker tones of licorice, dried blackberry and savory spice. Give the wine the time it needs to open in the glass. This vintage flaunts its most elegant side, with fine tannins and soft fruity fiber that remains everlasting and pure. This estate is known for taking its biggest chances in the so-called off vintages. Betting on 2014 has turned out to be a brilliantly contemplated move."

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  • 2019-01-25

    98

    points

    James Suckling, January 2019

    "The aromas are so seductive with dried roses and berries. Tar and asphalt too. Full body, very tight and powerful. Leaner and long tannins. It goes on for so long. Stops and then takes over again. A curious and challenging young wine. Great. In market 2020. Better in 2026."

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  • 2018-07-31

    97

    points

    Bruce Sanderson, Wine Spectator, July 2018

    "Piercing scents of truffle, rose water, macerated cherry and medicinal herbs are the hallmarks of this elegant red. Less evolved and harmonious on the palate, with a core of sweet fruit and tightly wound, dense tannins. Stays fresh and long on the extended finish. Best from 2022 through 2043. 50 cases imported."

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  • 2018-06-29

    96

    points

    Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, June 2018

    "The 2012 Barolo Riserva Falletto Vigna Le Rocche (red label) was bottled last September and has already eased into a comfortable and promising stage in its very early evolution. Bruna Giacosa tells me that this wine will be made in 2014 and 2016, so future supplies are plentiful. The jury is out on whether the wine will be produced in 2015, but Bruna tells me it is unlikely (albeit by no means confirmed at this point). Fruit selection was extreme in 2012. This is a warm vintage expression, and the wine is beautifully rich and velvety as a result. That textural richness is what stands out most. The primary fruit is bold and very well defined. There is a point of dark cherry ripeness, but it adds to the generous fiber and softness of the mouthfeel. Of the many beautiful vintages I have tasted of this wine, I suspect the 2012 might be faster in its evolution."

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  • 2018-01-01

    97

    points

    Bruce Sanderson, Wine Spectator, January 2018

    "Piercing scents of truffle, rose water, macerated cherry and medicinal herbs are the hallmarks of this elegant red. Less evolved and harmonious on the palate, with a core of sweet fruit and tightly wound, dense tannins. Stays fresh and long on the extended finish. Best from 2022 through 2043. 50 cases imported."

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  • 2017-09-07

    97

    points

    Bruce Sanderson, Wine Spectator, September 2017

    "This alluring red starts out with soft rose, cherry, raspberry and menthol flavors, all harmonious, before picking up tar, tobacco and mineral elements, playing out on the long finish. This has mellowed somewhat, but the fruit never gives up, even as mouthcoating tannins emerge. Best from 2023 through 2040. 900 cases made."

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  • 2017-06-30

    97

    points

    Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, June 2017

    "Here we have the venerated red label. The Bruno Giacosa 2011 Barolo Riserva Falletto Vigne Le Rocche commands attention and respect. The wine successfully, and somewhat magically, turns the tables on the overdone exuberance of the warm vintage and the natural heft that is inherent to Serralunga d'Alba. It does a great job of reining in all that power and transforming it into streamlined elegance instead. The wine opens to a dark and penetrating color and an immediately expressive bouquet. Thick layers of dark fruit, iron-rich earth, balsam herb, Darjeeling tea, dried ginger and cherry cola rise from the bouquet. The wine's Falletto signature is very strong. This is a Grande Vino with the proverbial capital G and capital V."

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TRADE & MEDIA ASSETS /////////////////

2017 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva – 97 points, Wine Spectator – Sell Sheet

2017 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva – Tasting Notes

2016 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva – Tasting Notes

2014 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva – Tasting Notes

2014 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva – Label

2012 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva – Tasting notes

2012 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva – Label

2011 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva – Tasting Notes

Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva – Bottle

2011 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva – Label

2008 Bruno Giacosa Le Rocche del Falletto Riserva Barolo – Tasting Notes

Bruno Giacosa Photography – Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva

Bruno Giacosa Photography – Bruno and Bruna Giacosa

Bruno Giacosa Photography – Harvest

Bruno Giacosa Photography – Harvest 2

Bruno Giacosa Photography – Estate

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