2019 Luciano Sandrone "Le Vigne" Barolo

Producer: A vintage like 2019 comes along only a few times in the career of a winemaker and the 3-generation Sandrone team took full advantage of the potential of this extraordinary year.
The Barolo Le Vigne 2019 lets its exceptional power shine through, waiting for its best moment to come. It will require patience! The nose is compact and full of dark fruits, spice, licorice and violet notes, closed and tightly wound but bursting with potential. The flavors are still one-dimensional at this early stage, but patience will yield a wine of great complexity and structure for long ageing. The finish is very dry with ripe tannins that seem to linger for minutes.

"Rose, menthol, star anise and baking spice are just some of the aromas that appear on the gorgeous Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne 2019. Focused, elegant and savory, the vibrant palate offers juicy red cherry, spiced cranberry, crushed mint and ground clove before a licorice close. A backbone of fine-grained tannins provide support while bright acidity keeps it impeccably balanced and loaded with energy and tension. What a stunner. (6/2023)" 98 points Kerin O'Keefe

"Very aromatic with hibiscus, crab apple, orange blossom, and ripe strawberry on the nose. Full-bodied, very layered and powerful, yet it remains very fine textured with an intense finish. Slightly more structured than before. Perhaps due to the addition of wines from a new vineyard? (6/2023)" 97 points James Suckling

"The 2019 Barolo Le Vigne is a historic blend of fruit from Baudana in Serralunga d'Alba, Villero in Castiglione Falletto, Vignane in Barolo and Merli in Novello. This year, a fifth site was added to the final blend. It is the Le Coste MGA in Barolo with south-facing exposures and 45-year-old vines in a two-hectare parcel. The backbone of this wine is Baudana, and Merli adds freshness. The wine needs more time in bottle, but already it proves generous and bold with dark fruit, spice and crushed mineral. 97+(ML) (8/2023)" 97 points, Wine Advocate

"The 2019 Barolo Le Vigne is pure and total seduction. Kirsch, sweet pipe tobacco, mint, cedar, dried herbs and orange peel all grace a Le Vigne built on mid-weight structure and energy. There is a feeling of youthful classicism and austerity that is so beguiling. Readers should plan on being patient, though. The 2019 won't be ready to drink anytime soon, but there is enough fruit to make me think it will be superb, in time. (AG) (1/2023)" 97 p, Antonio Galloni, Vinous

"This wine begins shy but turns it out quickly with aromas of warmed cherries, fresh wildflowers, anise, clove and black tea. The balanced palate reveals a core of fruit with savory and earthy elements in support, all resting on a foundation of polished tannins and vibrant acidity. (JP) (12/2023)" 96 points, Wine Enthusiast

"A tightly wound red, with floral, cherry, iron, earth and underbrush aromas and flavors. Beefy, with the vintage's characteristic austerity and a strong grip on the finish. The tannins lend a compact feel in the end, yet this stretches out on the finish, with a core of pure fruit. (BS) (12/2023)" 95 Points, Wine Spectator

Luciano Sandrone, one of Barolo’s defining figures, began as a teenage vineyard worker, saved enough to buy his first Cannubi parcel in 1977, and made his early wines in his parents’ garage while holding a full-time job. By 1999 he’d moved into his own winery, having spent two decades shaping a style that respects Barolo tradition while embracing careful, thoughtful updates. His wines sit between the region’s traditional and modern camps: generous and approachable when young yet firmly built for aging. Extremely low yields, meticulous vineyard work, and a measured cellar approach—medium-length macerations and mostly used 500-liter tonneaux—give his small-production wines their hallmark precision, balance, and lasting power.