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Prunotto, Barolo Bussia 2014

RedItaly2014

By Daniel Min · Tasted 2019-12-28 · Published 2026-09-16 · Updated 2026-09-16

In one paragraphPrunotto Barolo Bussia 2014 is a single-cru Barolo made from 100% Nebbiolo by Prunotto (now owned by the Antinori family) in the Barolo zone of Piedmont. Bussia is one of Barolo's most celebrated crus, straddling Monforte d'Alba; Vivino lists alcohol at 14%. The 2014 vintage has 556 Vivino ratings averaging 4.2 (10,644 ratings across all vintages, also 4.2), with two listed critic scores, both 91. The nose leads with red fruit — cherry, strawberry (443 mentions) — followed by an earth-and-leather group (420) and tobacco and oak (367). Structure: acidity 4.5/5 (very high), tannin 4.2, intensity 3.7 — a classic long-aging Nebbiolo frame. The recommended drinking window is 2022–2034. I rated it 4 stars on 28 December 2019; the world average price is US$69 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, Sept 2026).

Prunotto, Barolo Bussia 2014 bottle — my own photo, 2019.12 — Photo: Daniel Min, 2019.12 (Vivino log)

4.0

Father's rating / 5 ★★★★☆

4.2

Vivino 2014 vintage average (556 ratings)

Vivino-listed

Vivino-listed critic score 91 (2 entries, publications not named)

World average US$69

World average price (Wine-Searcher)

At a glance

Producer

Prunotto (Marchesi Antinori)

Region

Italy · Barolo, Piedmont (Bussia cru)

Grapes

100% Nebbiolo

Alcohol

14%

Style

Full-bodied, very high acidity (Vivino: Italian Barolo)

Drinking window (Vivino)

2022 – 2034

Food pairing

Beef, Lamb, Pasta, Game (deer, venison)

World average price

World average US$69 / 750ml (ex-tax, Wine-Searcher, Sept 2026)

In one line

4.0/5 — lower than Vivino's 4.2 average · world avg price US$69 · A Barolo house that changed hands three times — a Serralunga co-op in 1904, Alfredo Prunotto in 1922, technician Beppe Colla in 1956, and the Antinori family from 1994.

Two Vivino-listed critic scores, both 91 (logged Apr 2019 and Nov 2019)

Market note: 2014 is remembered as a difficult Piedmont vintage (hail, rain), yet this wine held the same score as the label's all-vintage average (4.2). For reference, the 2019 vintage sold for US$99.99 on wine.com (James Suckling 94, Wine Advocate 92 — for the 2019 vintage, not 2014).

Father's note — Daniel Min

Original author of the notes

2019-12-28 4.0 ★★★★☆

“Light cherry purple. Beautiful. Orange, cherry, mineral, leather, raspberry, plum, cassis, rose. 부르고뉴의 피노누아같은 느낌이 드는 바롤로 네비올로. 부르고뉴보다 좀 더 풀바디, 네비올로 좋아할 것 같다. 이태리의 산조베제랑 네비올로는 산도로는 너무 좋은 품종들.”

Tidied by Haru

Show original

“Light cherry purple~ beautiful~ Orange, cherry, mineral, leather, raspberry, plum, cassis, rose. 부르고뉴의 피노누아같은 느낌이 드는 바롤로 네비올로. 부르고뉴보다 좀 더 풀바디, 네비올로 좋아할 것 같다. 이태리의 산조베제랑 네비올로는 산도로는 너무 좋은 품종들...”

Min Haru Aspiring sommelier Level 1 · Cork

Red fruitEarth & leatherOakA memory from December, at twenty-one

What I learned today: a pale color doesn't mean a light wine.

At the bar door Minjae stopped me and held out his phone. "Barolo's the wine of kings, so it's always heavy. That's what we're opening today, right?" He'd seen it in a video. He sounded like someone who'd heard half of it.

The glass Master Seo poured was paler than I expected. Cherry, a little orange at the rim. Minjae held it up to the light and tilted his head. Master Seo said only, "Right. But that's half of it." What's heavy isn't the color, it's the bones. Acid and tannin hold it up.

At my nose: cherry, rose, leather, and orange peel. The drawer opens. The end of the year when I was twenty-one, snow outside the window one evening. Father held his glass up to the light over the table and said, "Pretty, isn't it?" That day I may have thought the bottle was Burgundy. I still don't know its name.

Father in his notebook thought the same: "A Barolo nebbiolo that feels like Burgundy pinot noir." His first line was the color: "Light cherry purple~ beautiful~"

Minjae went quiet after his second sip. What I learned today: a pale color doesn't mean a light wine.

Minjae tilts his head at the pale Barolo held up to the light while Master Seo stands silent.

What this wine is

This house began as a 1904 cooperative in Serralunga d'Alba, "Cantina Sociale Ai Vini delle Langhe." It made its first harvest in 1905 but collapsed under the strain of World War I and was liquidated in 1922. Alfredo Prunotto and his wife Luigina bought the failed cooperative's assets and put their own name on it — then started exporting Barolo and Barbaresco to South America and the United States, markets almost no other Italian producer bothered with at the time.

When Alfredo retired in 1956, he sold the house to wine technician Beppe Colla, who — with his brother Tino — began single-vineyard bottling from 1961 on. That push produced what are still Prunotto's flagship crus today: Barolo Bussia and Barbera d'Alba Pian Romualdo. Bussia, straddling Monforte d'Alba, is considered one of the most prestigious crus in all of Barolo.

The Antinori family, distributing Prunotto's wines since 1989, took over production entirely in 1994, and Albiera Antinori later bought and expanded the Bussia vineyard itself. There's no romantic founding legend here like Madame Krug's wartime story — just three changes of ownership (a failed co-op, a technician's buyout, a big house's acquisition) held together for over a century by one vineyard's name: Bussia.

Haru — At the bar door, Minjae shows Haru a 'wine of kings' video on his phone. — **Haru** At the bar door, Minjae shows Haru a 'wine of kings' video on his phone.

What the world says

The 2014 vintage has 556 Vivino ratings averaging 4.2, and the label as a whole (all vintages) holds 10,644 ratings, also at 4.2 — remarkable given that 2014 was a notoriously difficult Piedmont vintage. Two critic scores are on file, both 91 points.

The flavor keywords lead with red fruit — cherry, strawberry (443 mentions) — narrowly ahead of an earth group of leather, tar and mushroom (420). Tobacco and oak follow (367), then licorice and pepper (136). Structure: acidity at 4.5/5, among the highest of any wine in this magazine, tannin 4.2, and intensity a more modest 3.7 — a classic Nebbiolo that leans on acid and tannin rather than sheer weight.

"Light as a pinot, but complex. Strawberry, smoke, earthy. Violet, rose petal. Bone dry and acidic, perfect balance." — Vivino review, Aug 2019, 4.5 stars

The recommended drinking window is 2022–2034 — meaning I opened mine several years ahead of schedule, in December 2019.

How I drank it

28 December 2019, 4 stars. "Light cherry purple~ beautiful~ Orange, cherry, mineral, leather, raspberry, plum, cassis, rose. A Barolo Nebbiolo that feels like Burgundy Pinot Noir. A bit fuller-bodied than Burgundy — I think I'd like Nebbiolo. Sangiovese and Nebbiolo from Italy are both varieties with wonderful acidity..." That same night I also opened a Casillero del Diablo Devil's Collection Red 2017, and gave it the same 4 stars.

Comparing Nebbiolo to Burgundian Pinot Noir wasn't a random impression. Vivino's structure data shows this wine's intensity sits at a middling 3.7/5 while its acidity spikes to 4.5/5 — pale color, searing acid, and tannin (4.2/5) doing the structural work, which lines up exactly with the "light yet full-bodied" impression I wrote down that night. My 4 stars sits 0.2 below the community average of 4.2, not a big gap, but what's interesting is that my note's "fuller-bodied" impression outran the actual intensity number (3.7) — which suggests the acid and tannin simply loomed larger in memory than the wine's actual weight.

Vivino community data

2014 vintage rating distribution (556 ratings, average 4.2)

5★		89 (16%)
4★		382 (69%)
3★		75 (13%)
2★		4 (1%)
1★		6 (1%)

Most-mentioned aromas

Family	Mentions	Top keywords
Red fruit	443	cherry 192 · strawberry 82 · raspberry 56 · red fruit 44 · red cherry 16
Earth & leather	420	leather 154 · tar 76 · earthy 67 · mushroom 33 · smoke 21
Oak	367	tobacco 114 · oak 95 · chocolate 45 · vanilla 36 · coffee 13
Spice	136	licorice 37 · pepper 30 · mint 14 · anise 10 · cinnamon 8
Black fruit	125	plum 55 · blackberry 19 · black cherry 11 · black fruit 11 · dark fruit 9
Floral	82	violet 30 · rose petal 22 · perfume 9 · dried rose 7 · dried flowers 4
Dried fruit	48	raisin 16 · prune 13 · fig 10 · dried fruit 6 · dried cranberry 2

Structure: Acidity 4.5/5 · Intensity 3.7/5 · Tannin 4.2/5 · Sweetness 1.6/5

Average by vintage (all vintages: 10644 ratings, average 4.2)

Vintage	Average	Ratings
1985	4.0	53
1989	4.3	35
1990	4.2	53
1993	4.2	34
1994	4.0	30
1995	4.3	92
1996	4.2	115
1997	4.3	128
1998	4.1	127
1999	4.4	148
2000	4.4	105
2001	4.0	80
2003	4.3	53
2004	4.1	260
2005	4.1	739
2006	4.2	503
2007	4.2	362
2008	4.1	787
2009	4.1	642
2010	4.2	382
2011	4.1	536
2012	4.1	444
2013	4.1	504
2014	4.2	556
2015	4.3	431
2016	4.3	1016
2017	4.3	623
2018	4.1	532
2019	4.2	418
2020	4.2	340
2021	4.2	83

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Frequently asked questions

What kind of wine is Prunotto Barolo Bussia 2014?

A single-vineyard, 100% Nebbiolo Barolo from the Bussia cru, made by Prunotto (owned by the Antinori family) in Piedmont's Barolo zone. Vivino: 556 ratings averaging 4.2; both listed critic scores are 91. Recommended drinking window: 2022–2034.

How much does it cost?

World average price: US$69 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, Sept 2026) (Wine-Searcher, to be confirmed). For reference, the 2019 vintage sold for US$99.99 on wine.com (checked Sept 2026).

What food pairs well with it?

Vivino users suggest beef, lamb, pasta and game (venison). With tannin at 4.2/5, it holds up well against rich red meat.

Why did it remind me of Burgundy Pinot Noir?

Vivino's structure data shows a middling intensity of 3.7/5 against a very high acidity of 4.5/5 — the pale color and pronounced acid typical of Nebbiolo can evoke the delicacy of Pinot Noir, even though the tannin (4.2/5) is far firmer.

Links & sources

View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher

Prunotto, Barolo Bussia 2014

At a glance

In one line

Father's note — Daniel Min

What this wine is

What the world says

How I drank it

Vivino community data

2014 vintage rating distribution (556 ratings, average 4.2)

Most-mentioned aromas

Average by vintage (all vintages: 10644 ratings, average 4.2)

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