Wine Advisor
Roberto Voerzio, Barolo Cerequio 2010
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Description
Roberto Voerzio, Barolo, Cerequio, Piedmont, Italy, Still, Red, 1996
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The 2010 Barolo Cerequio is a generous and full expression with a touch of tannic tightness at the end that bodes well for future aging. The wine is enormously generous in its display of ripe fruit aromas, spanning wild cherry to red currant. There’s a real sense of structure and power on the finish, backed by balanced acidity. Drink: 2016-2030. Roberto Voerzio started buying prized vineyard parcels in 1982 and has since amassed one of the most important portfolios of single-vineyards (15 parcels over totaling 12 hectares) in La Morra (with Sarmassa and a piece of Cerequio in the neighboring township of Barolo). He follows a unique winemaking philosophy that is somewhere on the spectrum between traditionalists and modernist, but Roberto himself brushes off these broad stroke categories with a shrug and a smile. “In the years between 2003 and 2007, my approach to oak changed over and over. I went from larger containers to smaller ones and back again to larger,” he says: “Ultimately no one really noticed. What is noticeable however is his non-interventionist’s approach. He uses ambient years without sulfites for the fermentations followed by spontaneous malolactic fermentations and does not filter. He also chooses different bottle formats to represent each wine (with a generous array of large format bottles) and sells them in meticulously numbered lots. Fossati was latest acquisition with 20 and 30 years vines. Importer: Winebow, www.winebow.com
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A red with dried-berry and spice character, plus hints of flowers. Full body with integrated tannins and a savory finish. This needs two or three years to soften: try in 2017.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2010 Barolo Cerequio is a stunner. Deep, layered and absolutely impeccable, the 2010 wraps around the palate with serious intensity and never lets up. In 2010 the Cerequio is surprisingly powerful, with darker tonalities of fruit and more spice notes than normal. The sweet, silky Cerequio tannins are there, but there is a volume and breadth in the 2010 that is impossible to miss. This is a breathtaking Barolo from Roberto and Davide Voerzio.
About the Producer
Based in La Morra, Roberto started in 1986 with just a few hectares and the goal of producing the finest Barolo in the region. His viticulture is characterized by high density plantings and extremely low yields (750g /vine). The techniques he meticulously applies in the vineyards of pruning, green harvesting and bunch-thinning leave the fruit riper and more concentrated in flavors and sugars while maintaining a balanced acidity. The Voerzio vineyards are located in the finest Crus of Barolo: La Serra, Brunate, Cerequio, Sarmassa, Rocche del’Annunziata and Fossati, with complimentary vineyards of Dolcetto, Barbera and Nebbiolo all in the commune of La Morra. 20 hectares in total are farmed, all organically. In the winery, he is considered a classic ‘modernist’, with short fermentation on the skins, not exceeding one month. With the help of his son Davide in the cellar, the wines are aged in French oak barrique and botti, the Barolo for at least 2 years. Voerzio’s perfectionist approach in the vineyards, combined with his unrelenting quality of production and engagement in sustainable practices make his wines legendary, and are widely considered to constitute the superlative expression in the category.
