2008 Barolo Bricco Rocche Prapo

The 2008 Barolo Prapò flows with sumptuous layers of dark fruit, menthol, licorice and tar. It is a rich, generous Barolo, with more than enough fruit to stand up to the French oak. There is plenty of Serralunga character in the glass. This, too, is another fairly generous Barolo for the year, but there is more than enough richness to balance the tannins. This is a fabulous showing from Ceretto.

The 2008 Barolo Prapo flows with sumptuous layers of dark fruit, menthol, licorice and tar. It is a rich, generous Barolo, with more than enough fruit to stand up to the French oak. There is plenty of Serralunga character in the glass. This, too, is another fairly generous Barolo for the year, but there is more than enough richness to balance the tannins. This is a fabulous showing from Ceretto. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2028. Once the poster child of all things modern, Ceretto continues to impress with an approach that combines the best of innovation and tradition. Today macerations are longer, the wines spend less time in oak and new oak levels are lower than in the past. The 2008 Nebbioli were picked from October 5 to 10. The wines saw on average 25 days of contact with the skins. Malolactic fermentation took place in oak, and the wines were aged in barrel for 24 months, 50% new and 50% one-year-old. Starting with 2009, the Baroli are made with natural yeasts, which encourages longer and more drawn out malolactic fermentations. I have to say I am very intrigued by what is happening at Ceretto. Importer: Wilson Daniels Ltd, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661

Good medium red. Fresh aromas of plum and graphite complemented by nutty oak. A sweet, fine-grained midweight with good breadth and energy and some obvious oak influence throughout. The substantial tannins are a bit dusty. This will need extended bottle aging. (Unfortunately, my sample of the 2008 Bricco Rocche Bricco Rocche came across as overripe and tired. As you can see, I had very mixed luck at Ceretto this year, as well as with some additional 2007 samples I retasted in New York. Too many of the wines were tired and some were already showing signs of oxidation. Winemaker Alessandro Ceretto was quite candid about bottle variation, citing the strong possibility of cork problems, especially of corks washed in peroxide solutions, which can quickly neutralize the protective sulfur dioxide in the wines and leave bottles vulnerable to oxidation.)