Wine Reviews

From a hot and dry vintage, the Michele Chiarlo 2020 Barolo Cannubi has a pretty bouquet with dark fruit aromas, but the wine does not have the intense focus that we see with Nebbiolo in the cooler vintages. It offers an immediate side with soft cherry flavors and spice. It’s a fun and accessible Barolo overall.

The 2021 Barolo Cannubi is another impressive wine in this range from Chiarlo. Aromatic and refined, with lovely red-fleshed fruit, the 2021 captures all the finesse of this great site. Hints of blood orange, mint, pine, dried flowers and rose petal appear later, rounding things out nicely.

A graceful, spicy wine with aromas of mint, licorice, dried cherries, potpourri and balsamic. Full-bodied, it shows ripeness, velvety tannins, refreshing acidity and a long, savory finish. Classic and harmonious.

This opens up with cinnamon and dark cherries, as well as an earthy note reminiscent of tile. The palate is juicy and accessible, with fine tannins and a persistent, elegantly fruity finish. Bright, with incisive freshness and approachability.

Chiarlo owns a precious one-hectare slice of the Cannubi hill: just a few terraced rows on its steep, sun-drenched slope. The 2022 exhibits well defined aromas of raspberry, brushwood, pepper and cinnamon. It is youthfully austere but with an underlying sense of symmetry, where crunchy cranberry and redcurrant suffuse the core. The tannins are sinewy in muscle, exercising controlled vigour, while a fine, powdered texture makes for enticing mid-palate drama. I love the slightly salty edge. Give this another year to flesh out.