2013 Arnaldo Rivera Undicicomuni Barolo 750 ml

Unprecedented Barolo Blend Captures Magic of 2013

It’s very rare to find a top-notch Barolo for under $30—rarer still to find one from an outstanding vintage like 2013, and that’s already drinking beautifully now. So you can imagine our excitement to have scored 100 cases of the 2013 Arnaldo Rivera Undicicomuni Barolo, the one-in-a-thousand shot that hits all those marks. From the acclaimed cooperative Terre del Barolo, this bottle is a tremendous expression of the vintage with fruit sourced from all of Barolos eleven villages. Laying on 93 points, Wine Spectator praised the “sweet fruit and solid structure,” calling it “complex, balanced and set for a long life.” For Barolo lovers, this is a no-brainer case-buy, a bottle to reach for on a Monday night while your Brunate and Gaja unwind for another decade. All the Langhe richness, polish, and tannic structure we love at a stunning Chianti price.

In a recent article “Value in Langhe,” Decanter compared the collective Terre del Barolo to a Sleeping Beauty who’s been awakened, realizing its destiny as one of the region’s top value producers. The collective was founded in 1958 by Signor Rivera as a movement to organize and empower local growers as the nearby Fiat factory threatened to eat up labor. In 2008, the collective reached a new level of ambition and made a splash with the launch of the Arnaldo Rivera project, covering a cru series and an unprecedented blend that pulled on fruit from across Barolo’s top sites.

Nodding to its sourcing, the cuvée was called Undicicomuni or “undici comuni” (eleven villages), a conceit mirrored on the label which depicts in various colors each of the eleven villages of Barolo, from La Morra to Serralunga d’Alba. 54 sites altogether are represented, “an achievement in the fact alone,” wrote Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, continuing, “I can’t think of any other producer capable of such a feat.”

What you get from fruit joined together from so many townships across Barolo is a comprehensive and transparent picture of a vintage, with all the various microclimates and soils represented. In a vintage like 2013, that translates into a bottle that massively over-delivers for the price. The critics were unanimous in their praise for the year. Robert Parker rated the harvest as Barolo’s best since 2010. James Suckling compared the structure of 2013 Barolos to the excellent 2010s, but calls 2013 more “refined and focused,” “consistent in quality,” and perhaps the best vintage since 2008. Antonio Galloni concurred, noting remarkable “finesse and grace,” and a “sheer thrill factor.”

Excellent fruit purity combined with sturdy, mature tannins to provide for some of the most voluptuous, magnificently structured Barolos in decades. Few if any bottles can capture that thrill factor for just $26.99. Hit buy and see for yourself.