2010 Pecchenino Le Coste de Monforte Barolo Riserva 750 ml

It’s hard to overstate how great the 2010 vintage was in Barolo.

The vintage charts in both Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and Vinous have 2010 as the highest-rated year ever—going back to the 70s in the case of the Advocate and the 1930s for Vinous—with the former calling it “Extraordinary” and the latter declaring it “One of the most important vintages of the last three decades.”

By modern standards, it’s a throwback year—with somewhat cooler summer and fall weather than has become the norm over the last few decades in the Piedmont. That meant Barolo growers could let their Nebbiolo hang deep into October before picking, resulting in wines with rich flavors, soaring aromatics, and profound structures. 

So in the hands of Pecchenino, one of our favorite estates in the Piedmont, we expect—and get—magic. Pecchenino built their reputation not in Barolo, but in nearby Dogliani, where they produced profound bottles of Dolcetto. It takes immeasurable skill to turn a “lesser” grape into world-class, ageworthy wines, and their attention to detail is on display here.

Pecchenino knew they had something special on their hands from the beginning, and the grapes were treated to a three-week fermentation—and then spent another month of maceration after the wine was fully dry. That’s old school and a perfect way to draw out rich fruit, beautiful secondary aromatics…and intense tannins.

Just after harvest, its texture would have been fierce, but after a full 40 months in oak casks, another year in cement tanks, and then time in the bottle, those tannins have begun to resolve beautifully. Today it shows the mesmeric aromatics that are only possible with aged Nebbiolo—and it has miles to go.