Giovanni Manzone Barolo Bricat 2018

"A delicious and already quite open Barolo, the 2018 ‘Bricat’ is a fantastic new wine from this storied house...” – Owen Bargreen, 94 points

Barolo diehards, today is your big day! Single-vineyard brilliance from our dear friends at Manzone at a simply unbelievable price... it doesn’t get any better than this! The Manzone family has been farming lands in the Monforte d’Alba for nearly a hundred years and has become renowned for their fantastic cru Barolos. Our only wish is that we had WAY more than we do, because for this price, it won’t last long.

Bricat is a one-hectare parcel bordering the Manzones’ revered Gramolere plot, previously owned by their neighbor Gigi Bricat until his death in the mid-90s. The Manzone family took on the vineyard and have been making this single plot as a standalone wine ever since. They pride this site on its production of soulful, complex, and elegantly powerful wines – which you’ll experience as soon as you crack open one of these 2018 vintage beauties.

You’ll get a smoky sweet sagebrush aroma followed by this whisper of baby powder that opens everything up with a big soft hug. Next, a violet and blueberry sensation takes hold, followed by amarena cherries, with silky, intense tannins that offer iron ore and graphite accents. Tart plums, black truffles, and wild fennel notes next, all with a superb balance that keeps this dancing across your palate for minutes after you swallow. This is powerful, sumptuous, flat-out gorgeous stuff – great now, better in a year, and sure-to-be earth-shattering in a decade or more, easily! Just be sure you get enough to enjoy it in every phase of its life (and yours, too)!

PAIRING IDEAS: Try a double pepperoni pizza, cooked extra crisp and generously topped with Calabrian chiles and hot honey... whew, what a party with this magnificent Barolo! (Just get the Pepcid out first thing.)