Sandrone
Le Vigne Barolo 2018
Barolo
Le Vigne Barolo is often a dark and impenetrable wine in its youth. With proper cellaring, this wine reveals more classic Barolo aspects of black cherries, tar, violets and roses. This wine can outlive the ALESTE/Cannubi Boschis bottling in great years: Le Vigne shows more tannins than its brother and possesses amazing freshness and length.
Le Vigne is a wine created from four different Nebbiolo vineyards, each of which brings its own contribution. This union generates an exceptionally complex wine that is round and harmonious on the palate, with fruity and spicy notes, and this approach of blending together plots is in fact the traditional one in Barolo.
VINEYARD
Le Vigne is a wine created from four different vineyards, each of which brings its own contribution. The first vineyard, Vignane, is situated in the historical part of the Barolo appellation and shares many characteristics with Cannubi. The Merli vineyard is located in Novello, with the Sandrone section in a south-southwest facing bowl that captures the afternoon light perfectly. The wines made from here are earthy and robust but with good aromatic complexity. The third vineyard, Baudana in Serralunga d’Alba, gives the wine additional depth and richness. As of 2011, Le Vigne also includes fruit from Villero, a newly acquired vineyard in Castiglione Falletto.
WINEMAKING
Each vineyard is vinified separately, and after destemming and light crushing, the must is covered with CO2 for a gentle warm maceration of approximately a day. Alcoholic fermentation begins about 24-36 hours later from native yeasts. A gentle maceration takes place in upright open-top steel tanks for the first 7-18 days of alcoholic fermentation. Immediately after alcoholic fermentation, which takes about 28 days, malolactic fermentation takes place in 500-liter French oak casks. The wine is aged in these casks (25% new) for 24 months.
VINTAGE
After the sweltering 2017 season, 2018 began with good winter snow and spring rains that helped replenish the dry ground. Flowering was under normal conditions. The beginning of the summer was characterized by occasional downpours that led to high humidity conditions. Much care had to be taken to achieve a healthy vineyard as Peronospora ran rampant when left unchecked by regular and judicious applications of the correct treatments. Green harvesting became necessary in order to bring fruit production to the highest possible potential quality. Development of the fruit was gradual during the summer, and a long period of constant fine weather helped the grapes to ripen without an early harvest. The harvest period was normal and quantities in general were slightly higher than had been the norm for the previous vintages.
TASTING NOTE
The warm-but-not hot vintage of 2018 gave us a Le Vigne Barolo of great delicacy and excellent structure. The nose is forceful but not explosive – it is balanced and open, expanding upwards in the glass with spicy notes framing black and red fruits. On the palate, the wine is open and engaging, recalling vintages of similar climatic character such as 2012 and 2015. The tannins are ripe, open and silky, the mouthfeel is filling without being heavy, the acidity is fresh and the finish is long with a distinct mineral note.
Color
Red
Grape Varieties
Nebbiolo
Appellation
Barolo
Farming
Follows organic farming but has chosen not to seek certification. Minimal quantities of Bordeaux mixture and sulfur (as allowed per organic practices) are used to control mold and fungus, and fertilization every 4-6 years occurs with composted manure from dairy cows.
Alcohol
14%
Suggested Retail Price
$155.00
Reviews
"Savory truffle-y notes"
James Suckling - May 4, 2022
"The delicate mix of creamy red berries and savory, truffley notes keeps your nose glued to the glass. And that subtlety is carried over into the medium-to full-bodied palate, where there’s a youthful balance of silky fruit and lightly firm tannins that drives gently through the long finish. Subtle is the word, but excellent is the verdict. So tempting to drink now, but give it a couple of years." -J.S.
"Savory, truffley notes"
James Suckling - June 21, 2022
"The delicate mix of creamy red berries and savory, truffley notes keeps your nose glued to the glass. And that subtlety is carried over into the medium-to full-bodied palate, where there’s a youthful balance of silky fruit and lightly firm tannins that drives gently through the long finish. Subtle is the word, but excellent is the verdict."-J.S
Wine Advocate (96+) - June 26, 2022 "One of my personal favorites, the 2018 Barolo Le Vigne is savory in character and packed with dark fruit. Ripe cherry and redcurrant cedes to spice, licorice and fragrant rose. The oak is integrated, but there are added accents of spice and dark tar. Le Vigne is a blend of fruit from Baudana in Serralunga d'Alba, Villero in Castiglione Falletto, Vignane in Barolo and Merli in Novello." -M.L 6/22
"Elegantly structured and vibrant"
Wine Enthusiast - June 27, 2022
"Camphor, violet, red berry and oak-driven spice are front and center on this fragrant red. Elegantly structured and vibrant, the focused palate delivers juicy red cherry, crushed strawberry, star anise and a hint of mocha alongside taut, fine-grained tannins. Bright acidity keeps it balanced."—K.O.
"Rose petal, strawberry, cherry"
Wine Spectator - January 11, 2023
"A taut red, with alluring aromas and flavors of rose petal, strawberry, cherry, tea and graphite fused to an elegant frame. Reveals its structure on the long finish, where there's plenty of fruit in the end. Delivers terrific balance and harmony."—B.S 1/23
More on Sandrone Le Vigne Barolo 2018
Luciano Sandrone featured in “Bootstraps to Barolo” Wine Spectator
November 18, 2022 - Wine Spectator writer Robert Camuto published a compelling article that documents the Sandrone winemaking family's legacy that has spanned over 40 years of making wine in Barolo. From acquiring his…
Luciano Sandrone Tribute in Wine & Spirits
February 6, 2023 - Stephanie Johnson, Italian Editor of Wine & Spirits Magazine wrote a touching tribute to winemaker and visionary, Luciano Sandrone, following his passing in January. She fondly recalls the last time…
Trade Materials
Other Wines by this Producer
Dolcetto d’Alba
Dolcetto d'Alba
Sandrone's Dolcetto d’Alba is produced using Dolcetto grapes from 11 different vineyards, all within the Barolo DOCG. Sandrone’s Dolcetto sees no time in wood and is a remarkably robust and complex example of the variety.
Barbera d’Alba
Barbera d'Alba
The Sandrone Barbera d'Alba comes from three vineyards: Merli and Rocche di San Nicola in Novello, and Cascina Pe Mol in Monforte d’Alba. It is widely considered one of the most intense and complex Barberas produced.
Valmaggiore
Nebbiolo d'Alba
Valmaggiore is the product of Luciano’s incredible passion for the Nebbiolo grape variety and its different expression. Just 15 miles away from Barolo, in the Roero region, Nebbiolo produces a lighter structure and ripe, smooth tannins that are not unlike those of Pinot Noir. This is not a “baby Barolo” or a second wine at all – it is a distinct interpretation of Nebbiolo from a completely distinct geographic zone.
ALESTE Barolo
Barolo
A combination of the names of Luciano Sandrone's grandchildren ALEssia and STEfano, ALESTE is the new name for Luciano's first wine, the Barolo Cannubi Boschis, which garnered early acclaim with the international trade and press. This single-vineyard wine is typically dense and concentrated, but shows incredible harmony and balance.
