Wine Advisor
Roberto Voerzio, Barolo La Serra 2010
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The 2010 Barolo La Serra shows a broader approach to its aromatic delivery with a generous portion of red fruit, blackberry and a touch of exotic spice. Like the Cerequio, the wine shows impressive grip and structure that goes above and beyond many of the other wines made in this delicate vintage. Barolo La Serra is focused and bright and should hold many long years. Drink: 2017-2033. 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 lovely balance of fruit and ultra-fine tannins. Full body, with strawberry, spice and chocolate character. Chewy finish. This is tight and powerful. Pure. Needs time to soften. Better in 2016.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Firm tannins give the 2010 Barolo La Serra much of its energy and cut. A brilliant wine, the 2010 bursts from the glass with freshly cut flowers, mint, sweet spices and licorice. As always La Serra has a certain tannic spine that is impossible to miss. In 2010 La Serra is striking. Sweet rose petals, red berries, mint and crushed rocks reappear on the bright, chiseled finish. This is a fabulous La Serra.
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.
