Sandrone
Barolo Vite Talin 2019
Barolo
Vite Talin is Sandrone’s rarest Barolo, born from a single anomalous Nebbiolo vine that Luciano discovered in 1987 in a vineyard leased from an elderly farmer known as “Talin.” The vine’s unusually small, dark clusters and distinctly compact character set it apart from everything growing around it. After 25 years of experimentation and DNA confirmation in 2017, the 2013 vintage became the first official release. Made from 100% Nebbiolo, it is fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged three years in French oak before spending another three years in bottle, debuting a full six years after harvest. It is rich, structured, and built for long cellaring.
VINEYARD
Sourced from three vineyards in the commune of Barolo — Le Coste, Drucà, and Rivassi — the Vite Talin clone produces notably small, deeply colored, highly pruinose clusters of lower vigor than standard Nebbiolo, resulting in wines of exceptional concentration and structural intensity. Its unique characteristics, stable across decades of observation, convinced Luciano that the grape's singular character supersedes even the terroir in which it grows.
WINEMAKING
Fully destemmed and fermented in 50hl open-topped wooden casks using only indigenous yeasts, with 20 to 35 days of maceration depending on vintage. Following an initial racking to steel, the wine moves to French oak tonneaux (500L, over 50% new) for malolactic fermentation and two years of aging, then to large oval French oak casks for one final year of refinement.
VINTAGE
A long, moist winter provided excellent water reserves entering the growing season, with bud break in late March. Ten days of intense summer heat in late June drove fruit development and kept disease pressure at bay, before a gradual cooling through September created near-ideal conditions going into harvest.
TASTING NOTE
Deep garnet with intense color, the wine opens with meaty dark fruit and sottobosco, layered with emerging spice and subtle oak structure from extended large-cask aging. The finish is long and ripe, with firm tannins and a persistent mineral thread.
FOOD PAIRING
Classic pairings include braised or roasted red meats, aged hard cheeses, and dishes with earthy components such as truffle or porcini.
Color
Red
Blend %
100% Nebbiolo
Appellation
Barolo
Alcohol
15%
Suggested Retail Price
$647.99
Reviews
Wine Enthusiast - December 16, 2025 "Like an auteur film director, this Barolo creates something that transcends simple description. The aromas spiral up from the glass with extraordinary restraint and precision, suggesting dark cherries, fresh tobacco, and crushed flowers. Each sip reveals new complexities, building slowly but inexorably toward something profound. There's massive structure here, but it's presented with such finesse that you forget about the architecture and simply fall in love with the experience."
Vinous - January 8, 2025 "The 2019 Barolo Vite Talin is a huge, dense wine. Inky dark fruit, licorice, graphite, mocha and spice stain the palate as this dense, super-concentrated Barolo shows off its notable opulence. Powerful and explosive, with huge tannins and a beautifully sustained finish, the Vite Talin is quite a Barolo."
Wine Spectator - August 6, 2025 "This red reveals the austerity of the vintage, with its linear profile and daunting tannins setting the stage for plum, black cherry, graphite and tar flavors. Dense and with a firm edge, this picks up a hint of chocolate on the finish."
Wine Advocate - January 31, 2025 "This is a fascinating expression that puts the emphasis on grape instead of terroir. The 2019 Barolo Vite Talin is made with a special clone of Nebbiolo identified by the Sandrone family and farmed for many years on an experimental basis before this wine came into being. Barolo vineyards le Coste, Drucà and Rivassi are featured. The wine ferments in oak and ages in tonneaux for two years, followed by more time in botti and bottle. The 2019 vintage will be remembered for its extra concentration and richness, and you definitely sense that here thanks to the wine's dark, extracted appearance and its intense aromas of dried blackberry, bacon, campfire, barbecue smoke and baked prune. It's less territory-driven for sure, but the wine is especially rich, concentrated and structured. The tannins are tightly coiled and aggressive. I also notice a hint of a leafy vegetable or celery root."
Trade Materials
Other Wines by this Producer
Sibi et Paucis Le Vigne Barolo
Barolo
Le Vigne is a wine created from four different Nebbiolo vineyards, each of which brings its own contribution. This union generates an exceptionally complex wine that is round and harmonious on the palate, with fruity and spicy notes, and this approach of blending together plots is in fact the traditional one in Barolo.
Sibi et Paucis ALESTE Barolo
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Dolcetto d’Alba
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Le Vigne Barolo
Barolo
Le Vigne is a wine created from four different Nebbiolo vineyards, each of which brings its own contribution. This union generates an exceptionally complex wine that is round and harmonious on the palate, with fruity and spicy notes, and this approach of blending together plots is in fact the traditional one in Barolo.
Barbera d’Alba
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Valmaggiore
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Valmaggiore is the product of Luciano’s incredible passion for the Nebbiolo grape variety and its different expression. Just 15 miles away from Barolo, in the Roero region, Nebbiolo produces a lighter structure and ripe, smooth tannins that are not unlike those of Pinot Noir. This is not a “baby Barolo” or a second wine at all – it is a distinct interpretation of Nebbiolo from a completely distinct geographic zone.
ALESTE Barolo
Barolo
A combination of the names of Luciano Sandrone's grandchildren ALEssia and STEfano, ALESTE is the new name for Luciano's first wine, the Barolo Cannubi Boschis, which garnered early acclaim with the international trade and press. This single-vineyard wine is typically dense and concentrated, but shows incredible harmony and balance.
