2013 Barolo Le Coste

The 2013 Barolo Le Coste paints a broad-stroke portrait of Nebbiolo. The wine is thickly textured and well concentrated. What it gives up in nuance, it makes up for with grit and power. The quality of fruit is ripe, dark and on the fleshy side. This expression is more succulent than your standard Barolo from this cool and tempered vintage. In fact, judging by this wine, you might think the growing season was warmer than it really was. I am suggesting a mid-term drinking window as a result.

Lively and silky with a mineral and dried fruit character. Lemon and citrus undertones. Medium to full body, fine tannins and a pretty finish. Citrus undertones. Better in 2019.

Another brooding wine, the 2013 Barolo Le Coste is also the most reticent of the three 2013 Barolos I tasted from Grimaldi. Here the impression of tannin and structure is decidedly vertical. Smoke, wild cherries, licorice, menthol and plum are some of the notes that develop as this reticent, inward Barolo gradually starts to open up. There is quite a bit of tannin - much of it from the oak - that needs time to fully integrate.