Michele Chiarlo Barolo Tortoniano 2021
£48.45
The wine
A complex and full-bodied Barolo with inviting aromas of deep fruits, rose petals, juniper berries and a hint of fine spice. The palate shows wonderful harmony, with silky tannins, remarkable elegance and real persistence.
Tortoniano is named after the Tortonian soils of the western half of Barolo, the paler calcareous marls found around La Morra and Barolo village. These give more aromatic lift and rounder tannins than the harder Helvetian soils to the east, and the wine is drawn from several sites on that side of the appellation.
The producer
Michele Chiarlo
View all Michele Chiarlo winesFounded at Calamandrana in 1956 and now run by Michele Chiarlo's sons Alberto and Stefano, this is one of Piedmont's most decorated houses. Michele himself came from a family of growers in the Monferrato and built the estate outward from Barbera country into the great Nebbiolo hills.
The family hold parcels in two of the finest Barolo crus, Cannubi and Cerequio, and in La Court at Nizza, the small appellation carved out of Barbera d'Asti in 2014 for its best hillside sites. Every vineyard is farmed sustainably to Equalitas certification. The house philosophy is that oak should be used judiciously so the vineyard speaks first, which in Piedmont has not always been the fashion.
Chiarlo has also done more than most to argue that Barbera deserves serious treatment rather than being the grape Piedmont drinks while waiting for its Nebbiolo. The Barolo and Barbera wines draw 90-plus scores from Wine Advocate, James Suckling and Wine Enthusiast year after year, and in 2025 Michele Chiarlo was named European Producer of the Year at the Sommelier Wine Awards.
