THE TIMES
Bring on the barolo: wine tasting
and truffle hunting in Piedmont
By Jeremy Watson
Jeremy Watson becomes part of the family on a tour of one of northern Italy’s most celebrated wine regions
Fabio Fantino is explaining with ill concealed pride how his grandfather planted the vineyard and his father produced its first wines in the early 1980s. He turns and points to the steep hillside behind, where the dark nebbiolo grapes that make one of northern Italy’s finest barolo reds flourish on rows of vines so impressively precise that Unesco has named this tiny area, around the village of Barolo, a world heritage site.
ANDREA COSTANTI makes the perfect wine
Brunello di Montalcino Conti Costanti 2019 100/100
The 2019 Brunello from Costanti is breathtakingly gorgeous. Combining the intensity of the vintage and the hallmark finesse that defines the wines of this historic estate, this is a wine Brunello lovers will want in their cellars. It opens with heady aromas of fragrant blue flower, woodland berry, forest floor and new leather that on the palate segue into juicy Marasca cherry, wild raspberry, blood orange, menthol and baking spice. Firm, ultra-refined tannins offer support while bright acidity keeps it beautifully balanced and vibrant. What. A. Stunner. Drink 2027-2044. Abv: 14% Kerin O'Keefe November 2023 kerinokeefe.com
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