Tasting Notes: Very deep ruby-red; still rather fresh nose, with hints of red berries steeped in delicate vanilla; dry, full taste, packed with body and structure combined with polyphenolic compounds that cater for lengthy aging.

Aging: 18 months in 500-litre barrels made of French oak. Stainless steel prior to bottling. Aging in bottle for at least 6 months.

Wine Advocate: “The Virna 2018 Barolo Sarmassa sources its fruit from a fully south-facing site planted to 50-year-old vines. The wine offers a twofold delivery of both power and grace. The fruit is finely nuanced with forest berry and wild plum, but there are chalky mineral sensations with plenty of blue flower and fragrant tea leaf. The tannins give firm support. Only 3,000 bottles were released.”

James Suckling: “Beautiful nose of wild strawberries and raspberries, dried flowers and mushrooms, tree bark and some flirty, cinnamon-like spice. Medium-to full-bodied with very fine, firm tannins that are coated in bright fruit and minerals. The complex fruit character is still there at the end. So nebbiolo and so good. But patience needed here. Try from 2024.”