2017 Barolo Mosconi

Hand-picked grapes are pressed then fermented in stainless steel at 25–27 °C with skin contact for 30 days. Aged in large Slavonian and French oak barrels and a small part in new barriques of medium-toasted French oak for 36 months. A little bluer than the Ornato 2017 but still quite transparent. Some real savour here on the nose and certainly no sweetness. Bone-dry, papery-textured finish that is super-appetising. Finishes just a little suddenly but quite a haunting expression of Nebbiolo. (JR)

The 2017 Barolo Mosconi is a beautiful, translucent wine that expresses too much of the best this site has to offer. Iron, dried herbs, chalk and white pepper give the Mosconi its signature aromatic profile. Pio Cesare's Mosconi is the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove. It's mid-weight structure and light (even for Nebbiolo) color can be deceiving. There is certainly plenty of punch here. (AG)

Now in its third vintage, this is the newest member of the extended Pio Cesare family. With fruit from the village of Monforte d'Alba, the 2017 Barolo Mosconi hits that sweet spot somewhere on the continuum between elegance and power. Perhaps this hot vintage (and its 14.5% alcohol content) inches a little closer to the side of power, but it does so in a most understated and graceful manner. The wine shows the freshness and lifted fruit that is normally associated with this special vineyard site.