Poderi Colla Barolo Dardi Le Rose Bussia 2004 1.5L

Few families have shaped Barolo's modern history quite like the Collas. Beppe Colla joined Prunotto in 1956 and spent nearly forty years there, and it was his 1961 Prunotto Barolo Bussia — the first Barolo ever made solely from a single named vineyard — that effectively invented the entire concept of cru Barolo, transforming an industry that had previously blended fruit from across the appellation into one undifferentiated wine. Bussia was reportedly Beppe's favourite site of all, and when he left Prunotto in 1990, he made sure to keep his favourite parcels there. In 1994, he founded Poderi Colla alongside his brother Tino and daughter Federica, acquiring Dardi Le Rose — the same magical corner of Bussia Sopra that had produced his legendary Prunotto bottlings of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Today the 6.25-hectare parcel, planted between 1970 and 1985 on steep, south-southwest-facing slopes of calcareous clay, is farmed by the next generation, Tino and Pietro Colla, using the same traditional method: destemmed fruit, around fifteen days of maceration in concrete, and 28 months ageing in seasoned Slavonian oak botti — nothing hidden, nothing rushed.

The result is classic, traditionalist Barolo of real finesse: raspberry, strawberry, cinnamon, and cedar lead into a sinewy, firm-tanninned palate with tangy pomegranate and sour cherry carrying through a long, complex finish. Antonio Galloni has repeatedly heaped praise on the wine, and critics have called it "the greatest Barolo you haven't heard of" — restrained and taut young, but built with the balance and freshness to age for decades.