Barolo Riserva Perno, Elio Sandri 2013

Sandri's 2013 Barolo Riserva tastes like the wines my dad used to drink when I was a kid. Rigorous and classically austere, the 2013 is the sort of wine that just isn't made anymore. Today, it is all acid, tannin and brawn, while there is very little fruit. This is a style of Barolo that becomes majestic when the tannins soften and the wine's inner sweetness starts to emerge. That's the good news. The not so good news is that readers have to be patient. For those of you who want to know what Barolo was like decades ago when it was an insiders' wine, before it became coveted like it is now, well, this is it. 2028-2053