What's Just Landed

"One of the things visitors will first see upon entering the winery is a table full of bottles opened over the last few days, weeks and months. As I have seen myself, these Barolos are pretty indestructible. If anything, they improve quite a bit with air.

Sandri is a man of deeply held convictions, but he is also an intuitive winemaker. There are no rules. Except for patience. Sandri gives each wine what he thinks it needs, as readers will see from the accompanying reviews.

These old-school Barolos are deep, powerful wines that require aeration.

Tasting them so often feels like stepping back into the past, like looking at a black and white photograph rather than the sleek, perfect images we have become accustomed to today."

There are only a handful of cases per bottling plus to make things more fun...these are 6 bottle cases.  

2015 Sandri Perno Barolo - The 2015 Barolo Perno is the sort of wine you want to open and spend many hours with. Initially the tannins are searing, but over time the 2015 starts to come together. Scents of tobacco, cedar, dried cherry, mint and leather open gradually. On the palate, though, the wine is much less forthcoming. The 2015 is a Barolo of beguiling complexity and nuance that will give everything it has to offer on its own time schedule. 94 Points Vinous $71

2012 Sandri Perno Barolo Riserva - The 2012 Barolo Riserva Perno is the most elegant of the three 2012 Barolos I tasted. Soaring aromatics convey an impression of elegance and nuance that these wines don't always show. Even so, there is plenty of the depth and power that are such signatures of these Barolos. Sweet tobacco, mint, spice, cedar and dried flowers are all laced throughout in this engaging, super-expressive Barolo from Elio Sandri.” 94 Points Vinous $77

2013 Sandri Perno Barolo Riserva - Sandri's 2013 Barolo Riserva tastes like the wines my dad used to drink when I was a kid. Rigorous and classically austere, the 2013 is the sort of wine that just isn't made anymore. Today, it is all acid, tannin and brawn, while there is very little fruit. This is a style of Barolo that becomes majestic when the tannins soften and the wine's inner sweetness starts to emerge. That's the good news. The not so good news is that readers have to be patient. For those of you who want to know what Barolo was like decades ago when it was an insiders' wine, before it became coveted like it is now, well, this is it. 97 Points Vinous $77

ETA for these wines is around the end of October.  If you'd like one of some, please contact me asap: santo@raincitywines.com. 

Santo