Winemaker Notes
As the MGA Bussia is the largest cru within the DOCG Barolo, many feel the wine style hard is hard to define, but in general, the Ceretto family feels their wine from Bussia Soprana has "more red-fruit characteristics than other parts of the DOCG rand is consistently a rather rich, deep and fruit-forward Barolo, with silky tannins" that culminate in an incredibly long finish.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
It opens with a complex array of aromas: warmed cherries, raspberries, earthy licorice root, whole clove, dried porcini, and desiccating rosebuds. Crafted with precision, it showcases the brightness of the fruit, perfectly counterpoised by the fine-grained tannins that provide balance. As it lingers on the palate, savory herbs, spices, and earthy undertones dance in harmony, creating an intricate and memorable experience.
Cellar Selection -
James Suckling
Floral aromas, rich red fruits and a rack full of spices come together beautifully in this structured, elegant wine with a long track record. Tangy cranberries, crisp red raspberries, rose petals and balsam interweave on nervy tannins and a medium to full body. Best from 2028 and beyond.
-
Vinous
The 2020 Barolo Bussia opens with beguiling aromatics. Dried herbs, tobacco, mint, leather and crushed rose petal give the 2020 striking aromatic presence. There is a sense of dynamic energy and complexity that resonates beautifully in this vivid, young Barolo from Ceretto. The Bussia has it all.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Ceretto 2020 Barolo Bussia comes from a tiny 0.7-hectare site in Bussia Soprano with 25-year-old vines. It offers a dark character of fruit with more richness, succulence and a slightly softer texture. This wine offers volume and depth with lots of purple and dark fruit at its core. The aging regime sees 12 months in French oak followed by an additional 24 months in larger barrel.
-
Wine Spectator
This is elegant and all about finesse, with a fine tannin structure and vibrant acidity supporting flavors of cherry, raspberry, mineral, tar and tobacco. Sleek and taut, with a long, slightly smoky aftertaste. Best from 2027 through 2042.
"The Langhe hills of Piedmont constitute that area of northern Italy where the wide and flat Pò river valley suddenly disappears and gives way on all sides to hulking and precipitous slopes. The Langhe hills are more than hills. They are ancient and rugged earth. Their narrow peaks are topped by castles, and they are thick to the horizon with grapevines. The Langhe hills are home to a small group of farmers and winemakers who, together, have succeeded in creating some of the planet’s finest expressions of place.
The Ceretto family is among that fortunate group. For three generations members of the Ceretto family have transformed the fruit of the Langhe’s vineyards into wines that speak of the regions identity. The famed Italian gastronome and intellectual Luigi Veronelli wrote, ""The land, the land, the land, the land, always, the land."" This philosophy is central to the Ceretto family. Reverence for this land has passed from Riccardo, who blended fruit from the region’s best vineyards, to Bruno and Marcello, who purchased Langhe vineyards and began bottling single crus, and finally to Alessandro, who is taking the winery into the 21st century by using natural methods to foster vines that are stronger, healthier, and more in balance with their environment. The Ceretto family has always been committed to producing the most expressive and authentic wines their land can yield."
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.