The Manzone 2018 Barolo Gramolere is toasty and generous on first nose with baking spice, Spanish cedar and mahogany wood. The oak imprint is strong, and it takes a little while before the wine begins to show dark primary fruit, plum, steeped tea and black rose. The Gramolere Vineyard in Monforte d'Alba is planted to 30-year-old vines, and the wine is structured and fresh.

From another celebrated vineyard site in Monforte d'Alba (planted to 30-year-old vines), the Giovanni Manzone 2016 Barolo Gramolere shows a degree more intensity and darkness compared to the slightly more streamlined Castelletto. The difference is minimal, but I get a bit more volume and soft fruit on the bouquet here with summer cherry and plum, backed by classic Nebbiolo aromas of ferrous earth and licorice. The Manzone team opts for long skin maceration times lasting up to 40 days, and the wines age in botte and tonneaux. This is your Barolo for a lean cut of steak. An ample 11,000 bottles were released in June 2020.

The Manzone 2015 Barolo Gramolere is an oak-driven expression of Nebbiolo with a more informal drinking style that prizes immediate fruit and intensity. The aging process takes the wine through both tonneaux and botte grande. Dark fruit nuances are thick and tightly stitched together with blackberry spice and leather. This is a voluminous vintage with 10,000 bottles produced.

The Gramolere cru is in Monforte d'Alb surrounded by Bussia, Perno and Castelletto. Only a handful of producers farm here, with the largest parcels belonging to Giovanni Manzone. The 2014 Barolo Gramolere is therefore the estate's signature wine, and it shows its unique definition as a result. There fruit is saturated and dark, with dense fruit layers of cherry and blackcurrant. The wine is structured and firm, and the tannins taste like they come from both the fruit and the oak.

This is Giovanni Manzone's headline Barolo. At 13,000 bottles made per year, production numbers are more than double the other Barolos in his portfolio, so this wine is reasonably easy to locate as a result. The 2013 Barolo Gramolere is an articulate and exuberant expression of contemporary Nebbiolo. It sees a 40-day maceration period for extra color and structure, plus 30 months aging in both botte grande and tonneaux. It reveals a dark color and medium body with black cherry, spice and licorice aromas that lift elegantly from the bouquet.