2019 Barolo Cerretta
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Tasting notes
Also yet to be released is the 2019 Barolo Riserva Cerretta Vigna Bricco, which is deep and expressive of this structured vintage and textbook Serralunga power. It’s sanguine and deep with notes of leather, ripe cherries, dark stony earth, sage, and floral perfume. Fabulous all around, it fills the palate with rich, well-defined tannins, gravelly angular texture, refreshing acidity, and savory notes of tea leaf and truffle on the finish. It’s a contemplative wine built to last the long haul over the next several decades. Each of the wines for this report were tasted with Silvia Altare at the estate in La Morra. During this tasting, I was reminded of how, as trends come and go in the wine world, there is a timeless nature to the wines of those who excel within the framework of what they have historically accomplished. That is certainly the case at Altare, where they continue to produce wines in the traditional style of the estate in 100% new French oak, but also make wines dialing back the use of oak, which is more in vogue today. Additionally, in the hands of such skilled artisans, they achieve a refinement that will often come across as heavy-handed and out of balance when others try to imitate it. Each of the wines in this report is a unique and singular expression in its own right.
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William Kelley (Robert Parker)
Decanter World Wine Awards
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Silvia Altare purchased 0.9ha in Cerretta in 2016, ‘when it was way cheaper’, she says. The vineyard is at the top of the hill at 390m, with a full southwest to southeast exposure. Exotic scents of spice, scorched earth, vanilla and pressed violet are settling in nicely. The palate is densely packed with liquorice-infused black cherry laminated between toasty oak and polished, grippy tannins. This needs longer for its substantial layers to coalesce, but extraordinary balance is already evident. Grilled bay leaf to close.
I got a sneak peek at the Elio Altare 2019 Barolo Riserva Cerretta Vigna Bricco, although it is too early to review the wine at this time. It won't hit the market until the fall of 2024. From what we can gather now, we are in for a special prize. This vintage is dark and generously concentrated with black fruit flavors and firm tannins for structural support. The 2019 shows power and a fully loaded style.
The 2019 Barolo Riserva Cerretta Vigna Bricco exudes depth and intensity from the very first taste. Black cherry, plum, graphite, spice, lavender and mocha build as the Cerretta shows off its personality. Readers will have to be patient, as this potent, strapping Serralunga Barolo is going to need time.