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.
The 2021 vintage started with a mild, snowy winter that provided important water reserves for the dry season ahead. A spring frost affected some of the vineyards and overall vine growth remained steady. A warm, dry summer with good diurnal shifts allowed Nebbiolo to ripen slowly and beautifully. Harvest ran from late September to mid-October, yielding healthy clusters with firm tannins and vibrant acidity. Despite a few climatic challenges, the 2021 vintage is considered to be a very good - and possibly even an excellent vintage - as it produced structured, well-balanced wines with exceptional aging potential.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I tasted three very different single-vineyard expressions of Barolo from Ceretto. From Monforte d'Alba, the Ceretto 2021 Barolo Bussia begins with a soft start, showing red fruits, currants, blue flowers and spices. Bussia is often one of the hardest MGAs for me to pin down—1, because it is so big and dispersive, and 2, because it always tends to be a little understated in the first few years. I find that to be the case here. But understated also means delicate and finessed in the long term. Ceretto draws upon a 0.73-hectare site at the heart of Bussia Soprana with 25-year-old vines.
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Vinous
Restrained, low-key nose of red currants, pomegranates, fresh violets, licorice and cherry stones. Medium-bodied, it shows refined tannins and refreshing acidity. It’s not quite simple, but flows easily. Try from 2027.
Rating: 95+ -
James Suckling
Restrained, low-key nose of red currants, pomegranates, fresh violets, licorice and cherry stones. Medium-bodied, it shows refined tannins and refreshing acidity. It’s not quite simple, but flows easily. Try from 2027.
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Wine Spectator
Bright cherry and raspberry flavors take on a dusky cast in this solidly built red. The vivid acidity and chalky tannins leave a firm edge on the finish. Overall, this is balanced, with hints of earth and eucalyptus in the end. Best from 2029 through 2046.
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.