2018 Elio Sandri, Barolo Riserva 'Perno'

Tucked away in the Perno Cru of Monforte d’Alba, Elio Sandri operates outside the frantic pace of modern Barolo, producing wines that are unabashedly Monforte. Wines of immense power and ageability. At Cascina Disa, Sandri ignores the pull of passing trends. He adheres to the unhurried philosophy of a winemaker who listens to his wines. While the DOCG mandates minimum aging in botti of 18 months for Barolo and Riserva, Elio trusts what is in the glass; if a Barolo requires six years in botti before it is ready to meet the world, it waits.

His work is a testament to patience, placing him firmly alongside a generation of the late traditionalist masters—Bartolo Mascarello, Giuseppe Rinaldi, Lorenzo Accomasso—whose commitment to place has always outweighed fashion. These are wines of terroir, soul, and structural integrity, born from meticulously tended vines within Disa.

Production sits at around 2,000 cases making these wines incredibly limited. In most vintages, Elio chooses to bottle a Barolo Riserva “Perno,” the fruit for which he selects toward the end of the growing season based largely on the condition and appearance of the leaf canopy. Fermented spontaneously in cement and aged in large Slavonian cask like the basic Barolo “Perno,” the Riserva spends extra time in botti. A long drinking window lays in wait for those wise enough to cellar it.