Arnaldo Rivera Undicicomuni Barolo 2013 | WS#53 of 2018 | Magic under $30

WS93 | The sweet fruit and solid structure play off each other as this evolves. Arnaldo Rivera Undicicomuni Barolo 2013 starts with floral, cherry, strawberry and licorice flavors.  While melding into the firm, resonant tannins as the finish extends. Complex, balanced and set for a long life. Best from 2022 through 2036.

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JS92 | Arnaldo Rivera Undicicomuni Barolo 2013 delivers a dense and polished red with dark berry, dried strawberry, and black pepper aromas and flavors. In addition, full-bodied, polished tannins and a crisp finish. Drink or hold.

Rare Magical Find

It’s very rare to find a top-notch Barolo for under $30.  Yet rarer still to find one from an outstanding vintage like 2013, and that’s already drinking beautifully now. So you can imagine our excitement to have scored 100 cases of the Arnaldo Rivera Undicicomuni Barolo 2013.   Furthermore, a one-in-a-thousand shot that hits all those marks. From the acclaimed cooperative Terre del Barolo.  Arnaldo Rivera Undicicomuni Barolo 201 perfectly express the vintage with fruit sourced from all of Barolos eleven villages. Laying on 93 points, Wine Spectator praises the “sweet fruit and solid structure.  While calling it “complex, balanced and set for a long life.”

Eleven Villages | Undici Comuni

Nodding to its sourcing, the cuvée was called Undicicomuni or “undici comuni” (eleven villages).   While a conceit mirrored on the label which depicts in various colors each of the eleven villages of Barolo, from La Morra to Serralunga d’Alba. 54 sites altogether are represented, “an achievement in the fact alone,” wrote Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.  While continuing, “I can’t think of any other producer capable of such a feat.”

What you get from fruit joined together from so many townships across Barolo is a comprehensive and transparent picture of a vintage, with all the various microclimates and soils represented. In a vintage like 2013, that translates into a bottle that massively over-delivers for the price. The critics were unanimous in their praise for the year. Robert Parker rated the harvest as Barolo’s best since 2010. James Suckling compared the structure of 2013 Barolos to the excellent 2010s.  But calls 2013 more “refined and focused,” “consistent in quality,” and perhaps the best vintage since 2008. Antonio Galloni concurred, noting remarkable “finesse and grace,” and a “sheer thrill factor.”