Vietti Barolo DOCG Lazzarito 2016

99 Points - Wine & Spirits

Vietti’s vines in the Lazzarito cru of Serralunga average 37 years of age, and they’re rooted in the clay-limestone soils of the southwest-facing slope. Their fruit builds muscular tannins that, in this 2016, frame flavors of dark cherry and raspberry tinged with notes of menthol and blood orange. This wine is compelling for its raw power and energy, and it exhibits the verticality and freshness of the 2016 vintage that will allow it to improve over the next decade and beyond as those chiseled tannins soften.

98 Points - Wine Advocate

Drawing its fruit from Serralunga d'Alba, the Vietti 2016 Barolo Lazzarito is built like a pyramid. It is grounded by a thick base of robust fruit and power and soars upward in intensity thanks to its beautifully lifted bouquet. It reveals direct and solid lines with blackberry, plum, spice, tar, licorice, candied orange peel and truffle-infused earth. A second wave of aromas offers dark minerals and ferrous qualities such as iron ore and rust. Baroli from Serralunga d'Alba are often in a category apart thanks to their richness and sheer fruit weight. With extra aeration, Lazzarito delivers mint, balsam herb or Fernet-Branca. (ML)

98 Points - Vinous

The 2016 Barolo Lazzarito is another stunning wine in this range. The 2016 is the first vintage of the Lazzarito I can remember tasting in which intensely mineral notes accompany the more savory, earthy notes that are so typical of this site. Graphite, sage, dried flowers, crushed rocks, menthol, dried rose petal, mint, licorice and blood orange race out of the glass in a breathtaking, towering Barolo that hits all the right notes from the start to its chiseled, strikingly detailed finish. The 2016 Lazzarito is one of the most classically austere wines in this range. In a word: Magnificent. (AG)