Serena Cordero landed another big job this year, becoming head winemaker for a new and exciting producer called Podere Gagliassi.

It’s a small project in Monforte d'Alba, 100% organic, and run by a young team who took over from the previous owners, a local family, in 2016.

Serena knew the wines well - she'd helped make them with her dad for a few years. She knew there was a cellar-full of aged Barolo waiting for the right home, and got straight on the phone to me.

It’s a single-vineyard Barolo from the Badarina cru in Serralunga. Barolo around here is known for well-structured, full-bodied reds, with great capacity to age.

The vineyard is certified organic, but because the wine was made in a nearby winery that isn’t certified organic, it can’t be labelled as such. Sigh - bureaucracy and all that...

The grapes were picked towards the end of October, during fog season. The fermentation starts naturally after 10 days (to increase complexity) and the wine is left on its skins for a long time - 3 months - which gives lots of depth and flavour to the wine.

It’s aged for a whopping 3 years in small French oak barrels, and a further year in bottle.

The wine is deep in colour, and floral and liquorice aromas jump out of the glass. On the palate it's big, juicy and well-structured, with a long, satisfying finish.

Barolo isn’t cheap, but when you understand everything that goes into making it taste so good, especially from a great winemaker like Serena, it makes it all worthwhile.

And thanks to your support and the WineSpark model, we’re able to offer this wine at a snip, compared to what it would cost elsewhere.