2020 Barolo Bricco Pernice, Elvio Cogno

Pernice is a historic plot named after the partridges that once congregated here. It’s a warm site – the first Nebbiolo harvested at Cogno – but the soil here is pure limestone. For all its flamboyance the 2020 remains poised: plush and voluminous on the palate before tapering to a cleansing, subtly saline finish. It’s aromatically intense, with, as Valter points out, an emphasis on blue as well as red fruit (one marker, he says, of a top vintage). Experience with past vintages tells us that, while it may already be remarkably expressive, this wine will age quite brilliantly. Pernice is aged for a year longer than the two previous wines, hence today’s release of the 2020.