My friend a talented actor Tony Curran described this wine ‘like an angel weeping on your tongue’. When I went to Barolo for the first time I was attracted to the wine as it forms fragile droplets in your mouth, something like droplets of water floating about the space shuttle whilst in orbit. The droplets literally float around in your mouth and the flavors are exceptional. The Bricco Delle Viole is roughly 450 meters above sea level, a microclimate which neither gets too hot in summer nor too cold in winter. The Alps sit behind this plot and on a clear day, it is one of the most impressive sights I have ever seen. The soils that make up this terroir are rich in clay and calcium with high concentrations of minerals such as magnesium and manganese. These ingredients provide for an amazing wine of sheer quality and brilliance. This vineyard is the last to be picked in the beginning of the fall. It can cause some worry, as the weather can be very precocious at this time. The waiting is rewarded with a highly aromatic wine with intense complexity and finesse. Usually a good red undergoes fermentation between 20-30 days, this wine needs 30-40 days in order for the grapes constituents to pass fully. It then ages in Slavonian Oak for up to 42 months before bottling. Think of violets, red cherries, dried rose petals, brandied cherries, and spices on the nose. In the mouth, this is like the finest silk, well balanced between alcohol and acidity. It has a very long elegant finish, which you will literally taste for hours later. This wine is as fine as it gets and will drink well for the next 20 years.