Borgogno No Name Nebbiolo | 2020

One of the coolest wine labels, Borgogno’s No Name signifies a quiet protest. It began 15 years ago, when Borgogno submitted two Barolo samples made the same way, aged in two separate casks, to the Barolo tasting commission. They approved one cask sample, but not the other. Riled, yet motivated, by the decision, Borgogno was determined to share the rejected wine with the world, a wine denied of a name, hence No Name.

Aged three years in cask, the current release of No Name hails from three of Barolo’s most prestigious sites: Cannubi, Fossati, and Liste. When the 2019 arrived, I couldn’t resist opening a bottle and sharing it with the staff. Like an expensive Barolo, the aromas pull you into the glass with a magnetic force, into an enchanted forest of wild cherry, cardamom, purple plum, and foggy earth. Then, in ready-to-drink fashion, the wine glides on the palate with buoyant acidity and freakish, superfine tannins. ~Allegra A