A prized Barolo cru from an esteemed producer and a landmark vintage.
In so many ways, 2016 is all about being in the right place at the right time for Barolo. An ideal growing season with all the prerequisites for a great vintage...full of truly spectacular, breathtaking wines that captures all the pedigree that Nebbiolo and Barolo are capable of.
- Antoni Galloni (Vinous, 2020)
We started to hear rumblings in 2020 about the soon-to-be-released 2016 vintage from Piemonte, one that was shaping up to be a modern classic and the greatest vintage in recent memory.
2016 Cascina Amalia Barolo DOCG Bussia
The 2016 vintage was about as perfect a growing season as one could hope for: a long, steady ripening period with a cool spring and mild summer. The resulting wines delivered remarkable balance of structure, depth of fruit, elegance, and finesse, and the distinct characteristics of Barolo's crus, with unmatched clarity. The message was unanimous: this was a vintage to invest in, bury in your cellar and wait patiently while it reached its great potential.
Despite this guidance, we showed no restraint and our stock of 2016s didnt last long. Luckily, we have the good sense to surround ourselves with others with more restraint! So when one brought a bottle of perfectly aged 2016 Cascina Amalia Barolo Bussia and offered the last of their holdings, we jumped at the chance (and congratulated ourselves on keeping such great company).
In the heart of Monforte d’Alba sits Cascina Amalia. The winery was founded by the Boffa family, Barolo stalwarts who got their start nearly 100 years ago after inheriting vineyards from the famed Borgogno family. The focus of the project was clear from its inception: to zero in on the greatest crus in Barolo and make wines that express the character of those vineyards as clearly as possible.
Bussia, one of Barolo's most prized crus, stood out almost immediately. Marked by a crystalline minerality provided by its limestone and marl soils, it is a cru of extraordinary elegance and aromatic balance, of both relentless charm and broad, brawny structure. That tension and precision that the best expressions of Bussia have to offer? All are on full display in the Cascina Amalia, tannins still firm and sturdy, but with fruit that was open and inviting, and crushed rose aromatics that jumped out of the glass.