Pio Cesare Mosconi Barolo 2020 750ML

Enchanting aromas of flowers like violets and lemon blossom, with raspberries and cranberries. Full-bodied yet focused and framed with a structure that builds on your palate and grows and grows, yet it remains fresh and vivid. The tannins are energetic and so, so long. A contemporary jewel. Fascinating. Thoughtful wine.

Mosconi opens with an appealing rusty scent which mingles with macerated cherry and balsamic herbs. It's vertical in character, with more of a red-fruit profile compared to the broader, palate-spanning, dark-fruited Ornato. Dusty tannins and sapid red and black cherry at the core are surrounded by flecks of orange peel, iron, salt, herbs, black pepper and oak. A pretty, complex and ageworthy Barolo.

The 2020 Barolo Mosconi displays a darker ruby color and reveals a fantastic nose with spicier notes of fresh red cherries, incense, candied roses, fresh sage, and peppery spice. Elegant, with fine tannins and mouthwatering freshness, it’s ripe but very pure, with a long, clean finish. It’s delicious out of the gate but is sure to age with grace over the coming 15 years. I continue to be impressed with the consistency and value these wines have to offer, and readers should not sleep on them, since they’re widely available. Drink 2024-2040.

The Mosconi unfurls with a medley of ripe plum and cherry, underpinned by the soft perfume of blue violets and rosebuds, with sandalwood, wild herbs, and roasted shiitake adding depth. On the palate, red fruits shine through a refined and silky structure, flanked by a rich tapestry of savory spices and a hint of briny minerality. Drink now–2040.

With fruit from Montforte d'Alba, the Pio Cesare 2020 Barolo Mosconi was first produced in 2015. Although the winery team has more than five years of experience with Mosconi, Cesare Benvenuto tells me that there was a steep learning curve with this wine. Mosconi is 300 meters removed from Ornato; however, the results are quite different, especially in terms of the mouthfeel. Mosconi shows silky or velvety tannins, and Ornato is more structured. This wine is lifted in terms of aromas, with bright raspberry and blue flowers. It reveals an open but translucent quality that gives this Barolo an especially elegant and undertone personality.

This rich red features a dense matrix of tannins and lively acidity uplifting its cherry, menthol, mineral and spice flavors. Austere for the vintage now, yet there's good viscosity midpalate and this finishes long and detailed. Best from 2028 through 2050.

The 2020 Barolo Mosconi is another very soft wine in this range. It shows good depth, but it's hard to look past the excessively easygoing style. Taken on its own, the Mosconi is an undeniably attractive Barolo. But Mosconi is one of the most distinctive sites in Barolo, and that just does not come through here. This needs more site expression.