Sarah Heller MW

Brezza’s 1ha holding in Sarmassa is among the highest in the cru at 300m (985ft), with generous western and southwestern exposures. Unlike the 2019, the 2020 feels decidedly ripe, with a subtle paraffin sharpness to its red mulberry and strawberry fruit, and notes of ginseng and vetiver. The palate continues the theme of medicinal roots, with boiled ginger and ginseng dominant on the mid-palate, harmonising with fruit that is incredibly sheer and lifted by its acidity. It takes on a beautiful cedary, quinine and gentian bitter-tartness to finish, with plentiful tannins that retain a crepe-like springiness.

"Brezza is a key player in Barolo, where its holdings are spread between several key MGAs. Its Vigna Bricco within Sarmassa is always isolated from the rest of the cru’s fruit, bottled separately when the vintage merits it. Though 2017 was notoriously challenging, the water-retentive marls have created a wine of extraordinary energy and complexity that beautifully reflects its protected, south-facing slope. Seductive raspberry fruit on the nose is carved with edges of hot tarmac, cardamom and truffle. A resinous front palate sparkles with pink peppercorn, styrax and frankincense, moving between steely, mineral and sharp note to amber tones that are heady and exotic, all over a base of delicately bitter red mulberry fruit. Acidity freshens and lifts; tannins, while displaying the blockiness of 2017, sit on the margins, giving the mid-palate the space to breathe. The finish is perfumed with orris root. Drinking Window 2026 - 2038"