Serio & Battista Borgogno Barolo Cannubi Riserva 2011
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Full and pleasant aromas, fragrant with fruit reminiscent of raspberries and jam. With time acquires interesting spice notes. The color is ruby red color in its youth, it assumes garnet red nuances that became orange soft reflexes by aging. Round, elegant tannins, balance of red fruit, plum, blackberries, tobacco and spice notes. Harmonic with long and persistent finish.
Ideal pairings for this wine are antipasti, pasta, soups, red meats, game and cheese. Also perfect with a cheese fondue, especially with white truffle.
The roots date back even further when, in the mid-nineteenth century, Cavalier Francesco Borgogno began producing his own wine, selling it in his wife’s small tavern in Barolo. With foresight, Serio & Battista Borgogno managed to turn their dream into reality: building their house and their winery on top of Cannubi, buying more vineyards all around for a total of 3 ha, in the heart of Cannubi. They were able to grasp the great potential of a place that is now worldwide known and that is considered one of the best cru in Barolo. .
While the history is important, it is the terroir, and resulting style that separates Cannubi from Barolo’s other vineyards. The crus of Serralunga and Monforte are known for their power, and to a certain extent, the Barolo DOCG as a whole enjoys the same reputation. The majesty of Cannubi lies in its lifted, floral aromatics with a palate characterized by elegance and approachable structure. As with all great wine, its requisite age-worthiness is undeniable, but unlike many Baroli, Cannubi brings uncommon pleasure in youth.
Francesco Borgogno established Fratelli Serio and Battista Borgogno in 1897. At the time his was the only winery on the Cannubi hill. He served as the mayor of the town of Barolo for more than 30 years, leading an informal association of growers and helping to solve problems in the vineyards and beyond. The estate has been in the family since its beginning, with forth-generation sisters Anna and Paola Borgogno now handing the reins over to daughters Emanuela and Federica.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
The center of the production of the world’s most exclusive and age-worthy red wines made from Nebbiolo, the Barolo wine region includes five core townships: La Morra, Monforte d’Alba, Serralunga d’Alba, Castiglione Falletto and the Barolo village itself, as well as a few outlying villages. The landscape of Barolo, characterized by prominent and castle-topped hills, is full of history and romance centered on the Nebbiolo grape. Its wines, with the signature “tar and roses” aromas, have a deceptively light garnet color but full presence on the palate and plenty of tannins and acidity. In a well-made Barolo wine, one can expect to find complexity and good evolution with notes of, for example, strawberry, cherry, plum, leather, truffle, anise, fresh and dried herbs, tobacco and violets.
There are two predominant soil types here, which distinguish Barolo from the lesser surrounding areas. Compact and fertile Tortonian sandy marls define the vineyards farthest west and at higher elevations. Typically the Barolo wines coming from this side, from La Morra and Barolo, can be approachable relatively early on in their evolution and represent the “feminine” side of Barolo, often closer in style to Barbaresco with elegant perfume and fresh fruit.
On the eastern side of the Barolo wine region, Helvetian soils of compressed sandstone and chalks are less fertile, producing wines with intense body, power and structured tannins. This more “masculine” style comes from Monforte d’Alba and Serralunga d’Alba. The township of Castiglione Falletto covers a spine with both soil types.
The best Barolo wines need 10-15 years before they are ready to drink, and can further age for several decades.