The Manzone 2018 Barolo Castelletto is a robust expression of Nebbiolo with ample texture, dark fruit and plenty of oak toast and spice. The wine needs time to shed some of that extra fruit weight and baby fat, and once it does it will show more pinpoint focus and linearity. Fruit for this full-bodied wine comes from Monforte d'Alba.

Drawing fruit from Monforte d'Alba (always known for its power and depth), the 2016 Barolo Castelletto shows classic lines and lively fruit intensity that gives the bouquet a pretty sense of lift and power. Red currants, spice, blood orange and rusty nail are part of the aromatic package. Underneath, the wine reveals a solid and tight core of primary fruit that needs time to soften and flesh out. I like the no-nonsense, direct and frank approach of this Barolo by Giovanni Manzone. Some 5,500 bottles were released in June 2020.

With fruit from Monforte d'Alba, the 2015 Barolo Castelletto is a darkly concentrated and thick expression of Nebbiolo with ripe fruit tones that emerge first from the glass. That initial wave is composed of black cherry, blackberry and ripe plum. This is a soft and more accessible expression of Barolo that shows some oak spice and smoke to round off the more rigid contours of the Nebbilo grape. It spends 30 months in wood, half of it in tonneaux and the other half in botte grande. Some 5,500 bottles were made.

Giovanni Manzone's 2014 Barolo Castelletto is a more generous and robust wine compared to many of its peers from this cool vintage. This expression offers compelling aromas of dark fruit, prune and spice. The delivery is smooth and silky. The wine is, however, marked by a toasted note of spice and tar that comes from the oak. That will take a few more years to better integrate. Only 5,500 bottles were produced.

The 2013 Barolo Castelletto offers a frank and accessible personality that opens this wine up to near and medium-term drinking. It offers vibrant, youthful Barolo aromas of dark fruit, tar, licorice and white truffle, and although those elements will become finer and more elegant with time, they already taste great now. This is a bright and beautifully intense wine that offers a friendly and disarming approach. Some 6,000 bottles were made.