2015 Poderi Marcarini Brunate Barolo Piedmont Italy 750 ml

The 2015 Brunate is a Barolo legend at the height of its powers. Marcarini is quintessential Barolo, a La Morra pillar that occupies some of the village’s most enviable land, and whose cru bottlings hold collectors in rapt attention. They’re “one of the most solid, reliable Barolo producers,” according to Wine Advocate, and “they rarely fail to deliver the goods.”

This remarkable 2015 from one of Piedmont’s most hallowed hillsides and an outstanding vintage delivers the goods and then some, boasting a 96-point score that ranks as the Brunate’s highest ever. Marcarini has been wowing critics for decades with their bold, cellar-worthy triumphs, and with this release, they continue to show their mastery over traditionally made Barolo.  

Brunate is “one of the most celebrated vineyards” in La Morra, the village that all but defines Barolo. So this wine comes from the best of the best. Low on the hillside (beneath Marcarini’s equally-acclaimed La Serra vineyard), Brunate’s vines are sheltered from strong wind currents, allowing grapes to develop darker tones and a fuller body than they would elsewhere.

As a result, the Brunate is a brooding, broad-shouldered wine, balanced by rich texture and ripe fruit. Tobacco, crushed mint, and resinous herbs on the nose segue into a generous palate full of dark fruit, rose, and sliced mushrooms that Wine Enthusiast praised as “succulent, elegant,” and “nicely balanced.” The Brunate might be a powerhouse, but it’s not without a gentle side—a “lovely density and richness,” that is “velvety and plush on the finish,” according to James Suckling.

Piedmont Nebbiolo thrived during the warm 2015 growing season, which Master of Wine Jancis Robinson called “an exceptional vintage,” and Wine Enthusiast said produced “balanced and poised” Barolos—words that certainly apply to Marcarini’s 2015 Brunate.

We have been massive fans of Marcarini for years, eagerly anticipating each release, and this Brunate shows all the boldness we’ve come to love, plus a depth that will continue to reveal itself for years. Powerful, intricate, and exceptionally age-worthy—this is a cellar cornerstone if we’ve ever seen one.

Few wineries may be better equipped to harness the Brunate vineyard’s power than that of the Marcarini family, which has been part of the La Morra winemaking scene since the 1850s, and whose name itself is synonymous with the village. They were one of the village’s first producers to bottle and market single-site Barolo. And if you were to visit La Morra in the 19th century, you wouldn’t even be able to enter without walking by their winery, which is located at the original village entrance, with cellars directly underneath.  

Today the family sticks to traditional production methods—long macerations in large wood vessels—on the roughly 11 acres of Brunate vines they claim for themselves. They are not tradition-bound, though, as their use of modern pruning techniques allow them to keep grape yields low, a strategy that results in grapes that draws out the best of Brunate’s muscle and richness.