Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine 2021 750ml

Antonio Galloni calls the Tre Tine "quite attractive, as it is in most vintages", but 2021 is the year its famously fierce young tannins arrived already tamed.

The estate's 2021 report, reproduced by Galli Enoteca, records a spring frost that cut the Brunate crop while the rest of the estate stayed abundant. Heavy rain fell on 4 October; picking of Cannubi San Lorenzo and Le Coste started on the 6th under cool, sunny skies and closed on 12 October with the Nebbiolo from Ravera, the three parcels behind this wine. The vats were racked between 4 and 8 November after long macerations. Antonio Galloni (Vinous, January 2025) puts the 2021 blend at roughly 60 percent Ravera, 20 percent Le Coste and 20 percent Cannubi San Lorenzo, bottled in late August after just under three years in cask.

Tre Tine means three vats. Inagaki Shoten, the Japanese importer that buys from the cellar, explains the origin: once the 2010 rules allowed one vineyard name per label, Beppe Rinaldi turned Brunate into a Brunate-led bottling and poured the rest of his Le Coste into the assemblage he considered his ideal Barolo. The importer's standing recipe is Ravera at 50 percent for clay that gives frame, tannin and acidity, the adjoining Rivassi at 10, sandy Cannubi San Lorenzo at 20 for perfume, and Le Coste at 20 for suppleness. Each lot macerates around 30 days, then spends at least 36 months in Slavonian botti; Decanter (as quoted by WHWC) adds that the parcels are married shortly before bottling.

Marta and Carlotta Rinaldi farm 8.5 hectares with sulphur, copper and cow manure as the only inputs. Marta told Galloni that less intervention and gentler winemaking have made the Barolos more delicate over the last 10 to 15 years.

In the glass

Galloni (Vinous, January 2025) scored it 96: red-toned fruit first, then rose petal, mint, cinnamon and dried flowers. Audrey Frick (JebDunnuck.com, 96, as quoted by SommPicks) found a pale red colour, sweet red berries, orange zest and dried earth, coiled tannins and a salty finish, and judged it the most approachable wine of the range. Decanter (95, as quoted by WHWC) met it shy at first, potting soil, mint and strawberry over fine tannins. Falstaff (Kiem and Staffler, October 2025) gave 98 for dark roses, clove, juicy plum and pomegranate, salty and grippy, with a very long finish.

When to open

Galloni's window is 2026 to 2041, Decanter's 2027 to 2037 and Frick's 2028 to 2058. Decanter warns it needs time to come out of its shell, so our suggestion is a decant of several hours before 2030.

At the table

Our suggestion: tajarin with white truffle, braised veal shank or brasato al Barolo; the salty freshness Frick describes cuts through fat.

Quick facts

Provenance

Sourced from the Japanese importer.

Sources: Giuseppe Rinaldi (label); Inagaki Shoten (Japanese importer); Vinous (A. Galloni); Galli Enoteca (estate vintage report); WHWC (quoting Decanter and K. O'Keefe); SommPicks (quoting JebDunnuck.com and James Suckling); Falstaff; The Wine House (quoting Wine Spectator)