Wine Varietals

wines

The Gavarini Chiniera vineyard is shaped like an amphitheater with thick forests at the back (which protects from cold air currents) and sandy chalk soil at 380 meters in elevation. This is a special site, and the Elio Grasso 2018 Barolo Gavarini Chiniera is always one of Grasso’s most easily recognized wines. This vintage is exceptionally bright and vibrant with lifted tones of cherry, plum, blue flower and sweet blood orange. Those primary notes are framed by sensations of dusty white mineral. This mid-weight wine exhibits the deep elegance that was achieved in this vintage. Production is 12,000 bottles.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPDried-cherry, strawberry and tar aromas follow through to a full body with intense, chewy tannins that frame the wine nicely. Flavorful finish. Juicy. Not a big wine, but shows structure and class for the vintage. Try after 2026.James Suckling | 95 JSA bright, cherry-laced red, with a fruity core framed by tobacco, earth, eucalyptus and iron flavors. Firm and dense on the finish, yet this remains elegant and vibrant through the lingering aftertaste. Best from 2025 through 2042. 1,000 cases made, 50 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe 2018 Barolo Gavarini Chiniera has shut down massively since I tasted it last year, which is probably a very good thing for its medium and longer term prospects. Time in the glass releases some of its inner sweetness, but this classically austere, young Barolo is going to need time. I would not dream of touching a bottle anytime soon.Vinous Media | 91 VM

Very different from the Gavarini Chiniera, the 2019 Barolo Ginestra Casa Maté shows more bite, structure and a bigger tannic impact. Fruit was harvested a bit earlier, but healthy grape skins allowed for 52 days of maceration. This wine shows beautiful intensity and fullness with dark fruit, earth, hazelnut and dark plum. Surrounded by forests, the greenery gives balance to this wine by moderating temperatures. In fact, this site saw up to 10 degrees Celsius drops in diurnal temperatures, leading to thick skins and ideal phenolic ripeness.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RPAnother remarkable wine from this outstanding and tension-packed vintage, the 2019 Barolo Ginestra Casa Mate takes on a bit more introspective nature, with black cherry, cracked peppercorn, licorice, and wet asphalt. Full-bodied, it offers sweet tannins and notes of balsamic herbs, violets, leather, and black raspberry that move through the palate at a glacial pace without feeling weighted. I would recommend cellaring for a few years, after which it will be perfect for winter weather evenings by the fireside over the coming decades. Drink 2026-2050.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThe 2019 Barolo Ginestra Casa Matè is rich, dark and explosive. Dark-fleshed fruit, cloves menthol, licorice, scorched earth, leather and dried flowers are some of the notes that infuse the 2019 with character. Deep and resonant, with tremendous depth, the Ginestra is a wine of unbridled intensity. Swaths of tannin wrap around the huge, substantial finish. This virile, strapping Barolo is quite simply classic Ginestra.Vinous Media | 95 VMPlum and orange peel with some flowers such as violets on the nose. Medium to full body with tannins that build on the palate. Chewy and powerful. Traditional sensibility and nature to this. Try this after 2027.James Suckling | 95 JS

The 2021 Barolo Gavarini Chiniera is a deep, powerful wine. In most vintages, the Gavarini Chiniera is a bit more linear, but the 2021 has an extra kick of textural depth that is such a hallmark of the year. Iron, chalk, dried flowers, mint and red cherry fruit build with a bit of coaxing. Readers will find a potent, explosive Barolo that hits all the right notes.Vinous Media | 97 VMComing from the highest plot on the hill at 450 meters elevation, with a southeast exposure and sandy limestone soils, the 2021 Barolo Gavarini Chiniera pours a bright ruby red color and is the more lifted and linear of the two Barolo in the range. In the glass, it’s spicy and focused on the nose, with notes of red cherries, floral perfume, minty fresh herbs, and bright spices. Raised for 30 months in Garbelotto barrels, the palate is also focused and medium-bodied, with bright acidity that drives the wine, ripe but coiled tannins, and a stony texture through the finish. It offers fantastic energy throughout, and I would love to have a few of these stashed away in my cellar. Drink 2027-2047.Jeb Dunnuck | 96+ JDReaching 400m, Gavarini Chiniera sits on slightly sandy, limestone-rich clay. The 2021 saw a 40-day submerged cap maceration and, like its sister bottling Casa Matè, was matured in 25-hectolitre untoasted Slavonian oak casks. It is redolent of pine forest, spice, rose and violet. With cherry and black currant depths, the full-bodied palate brings in earthy truffles, making for a thoroughly captivating expression. A crisp backbone of acidity counters the fleshy fruit and fine, granular tannins provide a well-drawn frame.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECA graceful Barolo with cinnamon, cherry pits, Parma violets and subtle blood oranges on the nose. Delicate on the palate, with a medium body, refined velvety tannins and integrated long acidity. Red currants in the finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JS

The 2021 Barolo Ginestra Casa Matè is fabulous. Bright and transparent, with captivating depth, the 2021 is a stunning beauty. Enveloping balsamic notes make a strong opening statement that remains a theme here. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice and blood orange all come alive in the glass. What a wine!Vinous Media | 97 VMThe 2021 Barolo Ginestra Casa Mate displays a bit more ruby and deeper pigment in the glass and has notes of raspberry liqueur, sweet sage, pressed flowers, cedar, and licorice. It’s very pretty on the nose and carries more sapidity to the palate while also retaining lovely purity, with ripe tannins, slightly broader shoulders, and a long finish. Both of the Barolo have a tremendous amount to offer, but with distinctive personalities, and for my taste, this one has a slight edge. (I also wouldn’t be surprised if that were to flip with a different mood and tasting.) The perfumes of both the wines are exceptional in this fantastic vintage. Drink 2027-2057.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDA complex Barolo with a layered nose of licorice, vibrant red cherries, blood oranges, sweet violets and earthy minerality. Full-bodied, it shows elegance of extraction with red fruit flavors, freshness and integration. Velvety and savory tannins with excellent length. Try from 2026.James Suckling | 96 JSJust 300m away from Gavarini Chiniera, Casa Matè sits slightly lower, between 300 to 350m. Characterised by richer clay soil and full south exposure, it is always the first to bud and to be picked, usually 10 days earlier than Gavarini Chiniera. Intense aromas of liquorice, bay leaf and rosemary make for a pungent introduction. Laden with dark cherry and black raspberry, the palate is luscious on the entry, becoming more rigid as virile, commanding tannins take hold. Remarkably balanced in its girth, power and concentration.Decanter Magazine | 95 DEC