With the Barolo Vendemmia 1997, Elio Grasso presents the estate’s classic Barolo from Monforte d’Alba. Sourced from estate vineyards around Ginestra and Gavarini, where calcareous, partly sandy-marl soils impart a pronounced mineral stamp to the Nebbiolo, this bottling hails from an exceptionally warm, dry 1997 vintage in the Langhe that yielded very ripe, concentrated grapes with softer acidity and powerful, ripe tannins.  

On the nose, the Barolo Vendemmia 1997 today reveals ripe cherry, plum, and dark berries, accompanied by rose petals, licorice, and dried herbs. With air, notes of tobacco, leather, forest floor, tar, and balsamic nuances unfold. Extended bottle aging has gradually transformed the vintage’s generous primary fruit into a complex, finely spiced bouquet.

On the palate, the Barolo Vendemmia 1997 offers ample body and extract without feeling heavy. Ripe fruit is held together by supportive acidity and fine-grained, now substantially rounded tannins. Licorice, dark cherry, and mineral spice define the mid-palate as the texture grows increasingly silky. On the long finish, fruit, tobacco, and balsamic herbs merge with a fine, dry savor.

Today, the Barolo Vendemmia 1997 has entered a deeply rewarding stage of maturity in which the power of the warm vintage is enriched by tertiary complexity. Its pedigree from the vineyards of Elio Grasso and a traditional interpretation of Nebbiolo unite to form a powerful, aromatically profound Barolo that already displays abundant mature complexity while retaining the substance to evolve for several more years in a good cellar.