2018 Barolo, Via Nuova, E. Pira di Chiara Boschis, Piedmont, Italy

A fragrant and elegant red, delivering tuberose, strawberry, cherry and grassy aromas and flavors. Taut and balanced, with bright floral and red fruit notes gracing the lingering finish.

Drink 2024 - 2038

The 2018 Barolo Via Nuova is marked by palpable brightness and tension that lend energy. Like all of these wines, the 2018 is restrained in feel, but all the elements are so well balanced. Freshly cut flowers, mint, crushed rocks, chalk and white pepper give the Via Nuova notable energy. Intense veins of supporting tannin and minerality provide the backbone.

Chiara Boschis turned out a set of beautiful and expressive Barolos in 2018 that in some ways remind me of the 2012s. Boschis shortened fermentations a touch, as many growers did, to about nine days for the Cannubi and Mosconi and about 11 days for the Via Nuova vineyards. Malos were all done in steel. As has been the case here in recent years, the Barolos are aged in a combination of cask and smaller neutral French oak, with a preference for cask for the more delicate wines of Barolo and smaller barrels for the firmer wines of Monforte and Serralunga.

Drink 2024 - 2038

Fascinating aromatic complexity that keeps your nose hovering over the glass. Raspberries with ginger biscuits, flowers and a twist of basil. There’s a deeper layer of crushed goji berries and talc-like minerals, too. Full, intense, silky and dainty with well-integrated tannins that even add a chocolatey touch. From organically grown grapes.

So tempting to drink now, but better from 2024.

The 2018 E. Pira & Figli Barolo Via Nuova has raspberry, iris and violet aromas with cream and spice notes. The aromas are both immediate and yet very persistent. On the palate there are delicate red fruits, wildflowers, with cool, blue-toned fruit and integrated spice. The tannins feel firm and grippy, but still very refined. A little less seamless than their Cannubi 2017 but still a lovely wine.

Drink 2023 - 2044

This is an organic blend of fruit from six MGA sites: Terlo and Liste in Barolo), Ravera di Monforte and Mosconi in Monforte d’Alba) and Gabutti and Baudana in Serralunga d’Alba). According to time-tested local tradition, the 2018 Barolo Via Nuova is fermented in steel and aged in oak. This mid-weight blended Barolo has a more prominent herbal or balsam signature at the back of red and purple fruits, liquorice and pressed violet. Production is 13,000 bottles.

Chiara Boschis was the first producer to earn a certification for organics in the town of Barolo. She makes three outstanding expressions of Barolo: Barolo Cannubi in Barolo); the Barolo Mosconi from newly acquired vineyards in Monforte d’Alba); and the Barolo Via Nuova, which is a blend of fruit from six sites: Terlo and Liste in Barolo), Ravera di Monforte and Mosconi in Monforte d’Alba) and Gabutti and Baudana in Serralunga d’Alba). She also launched the Cannubi Biologico initiative, which seeks to convert all producers who work in the Cannubi MGA to organics. So far, her grassroots movement has won over 25 of the 28 winegrowers present there.

Drink 2025 - 2045

The 2018 Barolo Via Nuova is fresh and lifted, with a really fresh approach. Supple with red fruit, red roses, and fresh orange, on the palate it offers fine tannins, a graceful, clean finish with a chalky texture, and a Burgundian aesthetic. A gorgeous wine, it is drinking beautifully now, and I think it will have a long life ahead as well.

Drink 2024 - 2044