Sorelle de Nicola, Barolo Riserva Feyles 2015 - 75cl
This comes from Serra, a small plot in Perno on the southern edge of Monforte d'Alba — around two and a half acres near the top of a steep, south-west-facing hill, planted to Nebbiolo in 2004. It's the Barolo counterpart to the de Nicola family's Barbaresco, made by the same hand: Antonio de Nicola, who has quietly run this Neive estate since it was founded in 1964. Monforte is Barolo's most tightly wound, structured commune, and Serra's elevation and exposure give fruit with real backbone.
2015 is a vintage worth knowing. A warm, even hot year, but not the jammy sort — the growers who managed the heat made Barolo of ripe, rounded tannin and vivid perfume, wines you can broach younger than the austere classics while keeping the nerve to age. It's one of the more generous recent Barolo vintages, and this Riserva shows why.
In the glass, deep garnet. The nose opens on rose petal and macerated cherry, then tar, liquorice root, dried porcini and a dusting of sweet spice from the long cask ageing. The palate is full and firm — powerful, phenolically ripe tannins that grip but don't rasp, bright acidity holding the line, and a finish of dark fruit and woodsmoke that carries. There's grip here that rewards cellaring, though 2015's ripeness means it's already drinking with pleasure if you give it air.
A bottle for a proper occasion — a long table, red meat, people who'll notice.
How to Serve
Serve at 17-18°C in a large Burgundy or Barolo glass. Decant a good hour ahead, ninety minutes if you're drinking it now — young Riserva Nebbiolo unwinds slowly and the wait is the point.
Where to Drink It
Brat in Shoreditch, where the wood grill matches Barolo's smoke and structure. The River Cafe in Hammersmith, for its deep Italian cellar and cooking to match. Wiltons on Jermyn Street, if the occasion calls for old-school Mayfair and a rib of beef.
Food Pairings
Brasato al Barolo — beef braised in Nebbiolo — is the obvious homecoming, but a truffle-laced risotto or a hard, aged Castelmagno would show off the perfume just as well.
