Palladino 2013 Barolo Riserva "San Bernardo" 750ml

Completing this tour de force collection of wines from Serralunga d'Alba is Palladino's 2013 Barolo Riserva San Bernardo, only produced in the best vintages. This is by far the most intense and complex of the wines presented this year. It shows a tight inner core of fruit that needs more time to unravel and reveal itself. On first nose, you get slightly aged aromas of cherry cola, tar, licorice and smoke. There is dark fruit, with tight black fruit and plum, and a cured element of bacon fat or smoked meat. This is a savory and compelling expression of Barolo. Some 4,133 bottles were made.

Score: 94 points  -- Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate, 2019