Barolo, “Vignarionda”

The fabled cru of Vignarionda in Serralunga d’Alba is one of the most singular in all of Barolo. In his epic reference tome Barolo MGA Vol. 1, Alessandro Masnaghetti writes: “…the Barolo which is produced here can be termed—even more than a Barolo of Serralunga d’Alba—a Barolo of Vignarionda, such is the imprint of the cru.” The Luigi Oddero estate owns a hectare of south-facing vines in these old, limestone-rich soils, situated at 350 meters altitude, and the Barolo they produce here is always released several years later than their “Tradizionale”—befitting its powerfully structured, tightly concentrated personality. A wine created from truly profound terroir often proves extra-resistant to description, possessed of a certain “x-factor” that sets it apart from its brethren—something akin to charisma in humans, but suffused with the mysteries of the earth. Oddero’s “Vigna Rionda” has that in spades; its nose, full of wild animal, evokes forest depths, prompting a physiological response: widening eyes, a sharp intake of breath, a sense that this here is truly special. There’s something provocative about a wine such as this, which all but forces the taster to reckon with its very existence, threatening to rearrange one’s very notion of what the category can be. The palate similarly elicits wonder—a dynamic and potent unfurling of lip-smacking minerality, ultra-fine-grained tannins, and dense, small-berried fruit. Few vineyards in Barolo are capable of this level of profundity, and if the zone were to ever develop a “Grand Cru” classification, Vignarionda would undoubtedly sit near the very top.