Barolo Baudana

2018
Italy
Piedmont

The cru of Baudana can seem undersung compared to more famous sites, but in the recent past it was not so. “This vineyard has contributed to creating excellent signature wines since the 1930s and has always been held in high esteem by the locals”--Atlante delle Vigne di Langa, Slow Food, 1990.  It was also singled out in Renato Ratti's now widely-cited 1970 map of the Barolo zone's best vineyards.  Soils are a combination of the bluish-gray Tortonian-era Sant'Agata Fossili marls and the older whitish-yellow Formazione di Lequio from the Serravallian epoch.  This tends to give a wine with the depth and power one associates with Serralunga, but with a gentler tannin structure, perhaps reminiscent of the wines of Barolo and La Morra. 

The Vairas farm 1.6ha of Baudana, SW-facing at 350m. Vines for the Barolo Baudana are the oldest, planted in 1960. Fermentation is in open-top wood vats with manual punchdowns.  Macerations, cappello sommerso (submerged cap) lasted 45 days. Aging was in neutral 1500L, 1700L, and 2500L Slavonian oak botti, for 30 months, followed by at least 8 months of bottle aging. Unfined/unfiltered. 5,000 bottles made.

 

95 points
"New leather, forest floor and woodland berry aromas come to the forefront along with a whiff of blue flower. It's opens smooth and savory but its true structure shows up midpalate, delivering juicy Morello cherry, licorice and hazelnut framed against a backbone of fresh acidity and tightly-wound, fine-grained tannins. Drink 2026–2036."
Kerin O'Keefe,
Wine Enthusiast
September 1, 2022
95 points
"Managed since 2009 by the Vajra family, Luigi Baudana's Baudana is fermented in oak then aged in large casks for 32 months. Open-knit with a stunning intensity of pot pourri, wild strawberry, camphor in depth and sweet violet, its graceful style continues on the palate with refined silky tannins - firm and slightly dusty - refreshing acidity and a slightly warming finish. The finish is austere yet full of liquorice elegance, and the woven integration it exhibits will keep this strong for decades. A major success for a vintage of often leaner wines."
Aldo Fiordelli,
Decanter
January 25, 2022
94 points
"Rich, exuding cherry, raspberry, plum and floral notes, with iron, tobacco and tar accents lending complexity. Shows terrific balance and depth, with a tightly wound structure that bodes well for future development. Best from 2025 through 2043."
BS,
Wine Spectator
2022
94 points
"This wine shows good ripeness and concentration for the vintage, its penetrating flavors of dark cherry and black raspberry enriched by notes of licorice and violet pastilles. Taut, ferrous tannins support the ripe fruit tones, exhibiting the power of Serralunga as the wine surges toward a lively finish. "
Wine & Spirts
December 2022
93 points
"The 2018 Barolo Baudana offers lovely creaminess and depth in the mid-weight style of the year. Sweet red cherry, blood orange, plum, pomegranate and sweet floral notes all meld together in this racy, inviting Barolo. There's lovely depth and texture throughout. The Baudana is the most forward and immediate of the Baudana Barolos."
Antonio Galloni,
Vinous Media
February 2022
92 points
"The Luigi Baudana 2018 Barolo Baudana is a full and generous wine, somewhat surprisingly so considering the understated personality of this vintage. That volume makes this bottle stand out in a crowd of 2018 releases. Dark cherry, plum, spice, rust and crushed flowers make for a soft and readily accessible wine. This Barolo is oak fermented and aged in large Slavonian oak casks."
Monica Larner,
Wine Advocate
Week 3 | June 23, 2022
92 points
"Ripe, musty fruit on the nose and palate. Medium-bodied with fine, firm tannins and good drive on the finish. Best after 2023."
James Suckling ,
JamesSuckling.com
February 2022

SKU/Code: 
DB3271-18
Product Line: 
Wine
Red
Varietal: 
Nebbiolo
Farming Type: 
Organic