97pts Wine Enthusiast
Fragrant and delicious, this gorgeous wine opens with inviting aromas of rose, sandalwood, camphor and perfumed berry alongside whiffs of truffle and French oak. The full-bodied palate combines elegance and structure, featuring ripe Morello cherry, crushed raspberry, licorice and a dollop of vanilla alongside firm, refined tannins. It's already tempting but hold for more complexity. Drink 2024–2032.
97pts James Suckling
Opulent and very sexy with perfume, cedar, dried flowers and dried strawberries and just a hint of nutmeg. It’s medium-to full-bodied with round and finely velvety tannins and a flavorful finish. So seductive. Drink after 2025.
93pts Wine Spectator
Bright cherry, plum, leather, tar and underbrush flavors are the highlights of this solid red. A firm grip of tannins lines the finish, but not before the fruit builds nicely. Fine freshness, balance and length.
Luciano Sandrone is one of the most iconic producers in Barolo, and his is both a well known and extraordinary story. In the bottle, Sandrone's wines straddle the modern and traditional styles of the region: elegant, attractive and easy to appreciate right from their first years in bottle, but with no less power and structure over time than traditional Barolos.
Luciano started to learn viticulture at the age of 14 or 15, and after years of work as a cellarman he depleted his life savings and purchased his first vineyard on the Cannubi hill in 1977, though he could only manage his land on the weekends while he continued to work. He made his first vintage in 1978, in the garage of his parents, and then spent years refining his ideas about how to make a wine of distinction and utmost quality that respected the traditions of Barolo while incorporating new ideas and understanding about viticulture and vinification. He made every vintage until 1999 at home, until the winery he constructed in 1998 was ready for use.
The new winery, built at the foot of the steep Cannubi hillside in the heart of the Barolo district, is characterized by the respect for tradition and desire for innovation that also define Sandrone wines. Luciano has devoted every fiber of his being towards cultivating the finest Nebbiolo expressions from his sites in Barolo and the Roero, and transmitting these expressions through his wines.
