Professional Reviews
Robert Parker
RP
94
"Completing this tour de force collection of wines from Serralunga d'Alba is Palladino's 2013 Barolo Riserva San Bernardo, only produced in the best vintages. This is by far the most intense and complex of the wines presented this year. It shows a tight inner core of fruit that needs more time to unravel and reveal itself. On first nose, you get slightly aged aromas of cherry cola, tar, licorice and smoke. There is dark fruit, with tight black fruit and plum, and a cured element of bacon fat or smoked meat. This is a savory and compelling expression of Barolo. Some 4,133 bottles were made." -Robert Parker
Decanter
D
93
"San Bernardo is a very small east-facing vineyard and always provides the fruit for Palladino's Riserva. It's aged mostly in botti but also spends some months in 50% new barriques. The new oak may account for the slightly confected nose, which is at the same time fragrant and red-fruited. The palate is very concentrated but sleek and zesty, with unusual charm for Serralunga. Poised, polished and long, there's a light balsamic note on the finish."
Wine Enthusiast
WE
92
"Rose, eucalyptus and exotic spice aromas mingle with whiffs of forest floor and mature red berries on this full-bodied red. On the linear, youthfully austere palate, notes of coffee bean and star anise accent cranberry and pomegranate. Assertive, fine-grained tannins leave a drying finish."