Barolo is always in the discussion of the top premium wine regions in the world. If you are bothering to read this, then you probably already know that it is a small area in Piemonte in Northern Italy that produces only red wines made from nebbiolo. Barolo itself is divided into 11 communes (sub-regions). Serralunga d’Alba, one of the most famous of the communes, is home to Ettore Germano. Now run by Sergio Germano, the winery is one of the top producers in Serralunga d’Alba and has been making wine since 1856.

The 2017 vintage was not without its challenges for Barolo. But the top producers were able to craft incredible wines and this comes across so clearly in Ettore Germano’s Barolo del Comune di Serralunga d’Alba. In the glass, the colour is a bright ruby garnet. The nose opens up quickly with strawberry, cherry, pomegranate and rose petals. After the few years it already has had in bottle, hints of leather and tobacco have integrated with the dark fruits evident on the palate. The tannins are fine, readily present and elegant. Ettore Germano is one of the most exciting Italian producers we’ve imported to date. If you are into Barolo, this is certainly a must have.

This is an absolutely stunning wine. Barolo gets the lion’s share of the hype but, as far as I’m concerned, Barbaresco is the more enjoyable wine. It’s slightly more delicate, more approachable, more seductive and altogether more charming. Bring out the Barolo when you want to impress your boss. Bring out the Barbaresco when you want to impress a wine lover. This is quite ripe on the nose, but by no means jammy! It offers a heady bouquet of tangy forest berries and cherries, with violets, rose petals, earth, mocha and licorice root. There’s tannin on the palate, of course, but not so much that you’ll regret having opened it young. This’ll go for a long, long time, but a spell in the decanter is enough to see it open up, take you out of your living room, and transport you to the mountain-encircled foggy hills of Piemonte.