Some of our favorite wines in the world come from the northwest corner of Italy, tucked beneath the French Alps to the west and the Swiss to the north. This is Piemonte, defined by those mountains as well as the Po River which meanders through the province. This is also Nebbiolo country, and the wines made from this grape have been known as the wine of kings for centuries. Among the sub-areas that make Nebbiolo based wine, two have stood out and are known throughout the world. They are
Map courtesy of www.ceretto.com
Barolo and Barbaresco, located quite close to each other, but with significant differences. The hills of Barolo tend to be slightly higher in elevation, which results in less clay and more edge to the wines. Barbaresco has traditionally been thought of as the more elegant and less powerful of the two, however this is, in many cases, not an appropriate characterization. It depends on the winery and the vintage. There are neighboring areas that do indeed produce a lighter version of Nebbiolo, including Roero, Ghemme and Gattinara. These should not be discounted, as they produce many delicious wines, however they do not measure up to the power and finesse combined in a good bottle of Barolo or Barbaresco.
This is a region of hills, and both Barolo and Barbaresco have vineyards that blanket their respective hillsides. Each area is based around a hill town of the same name. Barolo is larger, with many more wineries, some of which go back centuries. It is a beautiful, rolling countryside. The winters are cold and snowy, and the summers are hot and dry. Fall brings frequent fog.
If you visit the area, the town of Alba sits between the two mighty wine making regions. We visited some years ago and spent a few nights in Alba, using it as a jumping off point for day trips to Barolo and Barbaresco. It is an ideal location for this. You can read more about that here. We reviewed the Borgogno and Fontanafredda wineries in Barolo, and Albino Rocca in Barbaresco. They were all excellent, varied in size from relatively small to quite large, and were steeped in the continuing tradition of the wines from this area.
But here we’ll look at another winery, headquartered on the outskirts of Alba, with vineyards in the best areas of both Barolo and Barbaresco. It does not go back centuries, but it does hold the land here in the highest regard and centers itself around bringing the true terroir of this region to each bottle it produces. It is all about the vineyards here. Let’s take a look at some of the wines of Ceretto.
The Ceretto winery was founded in the 1930’s by Riccardo Ceretto. He did not own any vineyards, but produced wine from purchased grapes. This remained in place until the 1960’s, when his sons, Bruno and Marcello, began to carefully evaluate the vineyards in the area and selectively buy land in the best locations. Today, Ceretto owns prime vineyards in the best areas of both Barolo and
Monsordo Bernadina Estate
Barbaresco, including La Morra and Serralunga in Barolo and Treiso and Neive in Barbaresco. They produce both blended wines as well as single vineyard versions. With the blended versions the goal is to provide some consistency, as well as to include influences from many of the vineyard sites in each region. Single vineyard wines are all about that particular terroir and growing season. All of their vineyards have been biodynamically farmed since 2018.
Along with the iconic Nebbiolo wines Ceretto also produces Barbera, Dolcetto, white wines from Arneis and sparkling Moscato based wines. The Moscato wines are produced in the I Vignaidi di Santo Stefano winery, whose goal is to elevate Moscato from the Alba region above the mass consumer quality level the grape became known for. We can’t wait to try those.
For this review there are no bubbles however, but we do have several Nebbiolo wines from both Barolo and Barbaresco, as well as a Dolcetto and an Arneis. Let’s take a look.
2021 Ceretto Langhe Arneis Biangé – this is a light straw in color, with a slight effervescence. It’s really complex, with strong
minerality, pear, some citrus, pineapple and lemon. There’s also a grassy element hanging in the background. Ceretto makes a lot of this, with 200 acres under vine. This sheer volume of vineyard requires a long pick, anywhere from 14-20 days. They keep each day’s pick separate, in a separate tank. Over the course of the picking the result is stronger acidity in the early days and and more structure in the later ones. At the end they blend the different wines with a goal of consistency, medium acidity, freshness and a delicate but complex profile. We’d say they succeeded across the board. This is delicious, and Cheri really liked it. Considering she rarely likes anything white, that is high praise indeed. At $25 SRP this is a great wine. We bought some.
2019 Ceretto Dolcetto Rossana – This has a dark color, and a nose full of plum and floral notes. There’s a touch of barnyard at first,
and some orange peel. It is medium in body and tannins and very dry. In fact it is much drier than the fruity aroma profile would suggest. This is built for food, and will benefit from some decanting. It is what the Italian’s would drink as an everyday wine, in between the expensive bottles of amazing Barolo and Barbaresco. Also $25 SRP.
2019 Ceretto Barbaresco – right away I was hit with the quintessential description of classic Barbaresco or Barolo, and that is tar and roses. It was very specific and very strong. Complexity abounds here, and the profile expands as the seconds go by. There is delicate berry fruit, orange peel and herbal notes. A little cherry lurks underneath. The rim has a touch of amber already. Tannins are medium+. This is elegant and made in classic way, combining juice from the three villages of Barbaresco. It is still a little tight, and the colder 2019 vintage creates that tension. Generally taken from the lower elevation plots on the hillsides, these grapes are grown in clay soils. While that generally results in rounder tannins, this particular wine does not show that yet. It is excellent but needs a few years to round out a bit. SRP is $75.
2018 Ceretto Barolo – this wine is more of a cherry red. The nose is rich, richer in fruit than the Barbaresco. You get lots of cherry,
floral and some wood notes. Tannins are medium. This is drinking well right now, and the next ten years are probably its sweet spot. It has medium+ body, elegance and great length. 2018 was a lighter vintage in terms of intensity. This is also a blend, made from 7 vineyards in 5 different villages. Delicious and a worthy choice for a top Nebbiolo that you can enjoy in the near to mid-term. SRP is also $75. We brought one of these home.
2019 Ceretto Barbaresco Bernadot – this is a different animal, from a single, higher altitude vineyard. It is a medium dark ruby in color. There is an unbelievable core of fruit here, evident in the nose as well as on the palate. A little tar and floral notes add to a classic Barbaresco profile, but one cloaked in pure cherry and berry fruit. Medium ++ tannins are brisk but integrated. The acid holds everything in line and keeps it fresh. It has great length, and is a spectacular wine. World class in every sense, this carries an SRP of $160. We never go over $100 retail for a bottle of wine, it’s just something we don’t do. We have many bottles that do retail over that, but we’ve purchased them on sale. This wine came home with us, and we did blow through our $100 limit. We might buy more. It is very much worth it.
2019 Ceretto Barolo Brunate – another single vineyard wine, this time from the Brunate vineyard, which is predominantly in the village
of La Morra but does extend into the town of Barolo itself. It is a medium dark ruby in color, darker than the single vineyard Barbaresco. It has great fruit and structure, really high tannins at this point, and needs time to integrate and round out a little. It is an immense wine, and will be great. SRP is $170. This is one to put down for three to five years and revisit.
We’ve still got some 2009 Ceretto Barolo in our cellar, so we know about the quality this producer creates. Actually it’s probably about time we opened those. This tasting was a chance to get to know more of their recent vintages. They are still clearly near the top of the quality pyramid in Piemonte.
Wine everywhere!
Speaking of the tasting, we went through these wines at an event sponsored by Westgate Wine in Raleigh, NC. We’ve lived in the Raleigh area for almost 5 years now, but had not been to Westgate. That was an oversight on our part. Aside from a large tasting room and lots of wine events, the place is a cornucopia of wines from around the world. They’re spread over several rooms, on tables, shelves and the floor. It is something of a hodgepodge, but a wander through the place left me in want of a much larger wine budget. It’s a great wine shop, and their online store is just as impressive. They also ship to just about everywhere. Add in a friendly and very knowledgeable staff and you get one heck of a wine shop. We’ll be regular customers from now on. You can visit their website at https://westgatewinestore.com/. The shop is located at 6405 Westgate Road, #115 in Raleigh NC. It is definitely worth stopping by.
Try some world class wine from Ceretto. The Barbaresco Bernadot is truly about as good as it gets.
A votre santé!
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