Elio Grasso Elio Grasso Barolo Gavarini Chiniera 2017 750ml

The 2020 Barolo Gavarini Chiniera is a heady, almost exotic wine. Harvest took place on October 17, very late for the year. Hard candy, kirsch, menthol, dried rose petal, mint and blood orange infuse the 2020 with striking depth. The tannins, often incisive here, are remarkably polished. A wine of beautiful nuance and persistence, the 2020 Gavarini is not the most obvious wine in this range, but it could very well be the classiest. Don't miss it!

Grasso’s 2017 Barolo Gavarini Chiniera is fabulous. In fact, the Gavarini is easily one of the wines of the vintage because it retains all of its classic signatures, which is also the sign of a first-class vineyard. Bright and vibrant in the glass, the Gavarini pulses with energy. Crushed red flowers, mint, chalk, white pepper, cinnamon and orange peel give the 2017 a super-classic Nebbiolo profile, as expressed in a relatively high-altitude site. The precision and finesse of the tannins—so hard to find in 2017—elevates the Gavarini into the realm of the sublime. (Antonio Galloni)

The 2019 Barolo Gavarini Chiniera is classically austere and just gorgeous right out of the gate. Soaring aromatics and fine, sculpted fruit race out of the glass. Crushed rose petal, cinnamon, orange peel and mint are all beautifully delineated. Readers will have to be patient, as the 2019 is going to need years to be at its best, yet it has that embryonic inner sweetness that characterizes the very finest wines here. Superb.

Showing a slightly heavier fruit profile from the hot vintage, the Elio Grasso 2020 Barolo Gavarini Chiniera has aromas of strawberry tart with gelatin; there is also a dark tarry note and clean earthy tones. You don't get the floral aromas as much in this wine. The wine is very focused on fruit and earth, with some background spice. It finishes smooth and with length, showing good acidity, and the tannins are present but not overwhelming.