2020 Barolo Vigna Conca

Medium youthful ruby in hue, the 2020 Barolo Conca is showing off in this sunny vintage, with notes of crushed strawberries, sweet cedar, incense, and fresh lavender. Noble and long, this elegant and medium-bodied Barolo offers up wonderful length and a haunting finish revealing notes of orange peel and rocky earth. It’s a lovely wine with a hint of warmth on the finish, although it’s still weightless. Drink 2026-2046. The brother and sister team of Matteo and Martina Molino lead this elegant La Morra estate. A family-owned winery, their grandfather Giuseppe moved from the Monferratto area to La Morra in the 1950s and purchased the property. Giuseppe’s son Mauro came back to La Morra following his studies in Alba, and in 1982 he produced his first vintage of Barolo from the small amphitheater vineyard of Conca. In 2003, Mauro’s son Matteo joined the winery, having also studied at the Alba Winemaking School, and he continues to lead the winemaking today. He is joined by his sister Martina on the commercial side of the winery. All of their vineyards are in the municipality of La Morra except for one, with approximately 20 hectares under vine and an annual production of 160,000 bottles. The wines are refined and wonderful at highlighting the gracefulness that La Morra can offer.

The Mauro Molino 2020 Barolo Conca has loads of spice and is oak-driven throughout. In terms of fruit, you get a bit of grenadine and red berry, but the mouthfeel is kicked up with spice, oak and toasted aniseed. Even the tannins are oak driven. This is a limited 3,040-bottle release. Give it a few more years of bottle age.

The 2020 Barolo Conca is a pretty rich, full-bodied wine for La Morra, but it’s a style that works. Cinnamon, cloves, rose petal, mocha and sweet French oak weave through a core of intense, red-toned fruit. Plush, silky contours wrap it all together nicely. The Conca is the most immediate of the four crus in the range. As such, it will drink well with minimal cellaring.