Vigna San Giuseppe is a 3.7-hectare parcel on a steep slope behind the cantina. It has long been considered the sweet spot for this vineyard, consistently delivering one of the region’s greatest Barolos. You get the best of everything: altitude, but not too much; excellent drainage, but enough water retention thanks to the clay, so the vines don’t stress in dry conditions; and a complex mixture of soils. These soils include blue-tinted clays, which bring power, limestone, adding freshness and mineral drive and sand, that delivers the prettiness and perfume. Once you add especially small bunches from the 60-year-old vines, unique clonal material and southwest exposure, the stars align to produce something magnificent.
Clearly one of the wines of the vintage, this 2018 spent 28 days on skins followed by five years in large cask. Where the Riserva Vignolo has a little more vertical lift and minerality in this vintage, the Riserva Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe is more about ballast and texture.