Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Cerretta is one of my personal favorite growing sites in Serralunga d'Alba, thanks to that more pronounced mineral signature of rusty nail or crushed stone that comes into plain view. White marl soils cover reddish clay not too far under the surface. Those territorial markers are especially well defined in this classic vintage. The Luigi Baudana 2016 Barolo Cerretta unfolds slowly in the glass to reveal orange peel, blue flower and camphor ash. There is generous black fruit in there as well, carefully woven into the greater texture of the wine. The tannins are accessible and integrated, and that's an important fact to know when measuring the wine's drinking window. You could age it longer or even contemplate a cork-popping in the not-so-distant future (say after 2025).
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Wine & Spirits
Giuseppe Vaira has been making the wines at this small Serralunga estate since 2008, and his 2016s are particularly impressive. Cerretta opens with fresh floral scents that lead into flavors of red cherry and plum, the deep fruit tones almost crunchy in their ripeness, layered with notes of menthol and orange peel. Cool acidity drives the long, harmonious finish. Already well integrated, this will reward patience to allow the firm tannins to soften.
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Wine Enthusiast
This full-bodied firmly structured wine opens with aromas of ripe dark-skinned berry, rose petal, new leather and eucalyptus. Showing its Serralunga pedigree, it features tightly wound, noble tannins that provide assertive but seamless support for juicy Marasca cherry, crushed raspberry, tobacco and licorice before a minty close. Give it time to fully develop. Drink 2026–2046. Cellar Selection.
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Wine Spectator
This is perfumed, featuring graphite, white pepper and underbrush aromas, with a core of cherry and currant flavors. Elegant and linear, with firm tannins giving support on the finish, showing fine balance and length. Best from 2023 through 2043.
Luigi Baudana is one of the last garagiste estates in Langhe. With just 4 quality hectares, located in some of the most prestigious Barolo crus in Serralunga d'Alba. The wines of the Luigi Baudana collection are an expression of powerful, genuine and true-to-terroir wines, expressing the best of the Nebbiolo grape.
The origin of the cellar is lost in time: Baudana is the name of the family, but it is also the name of the vineyard and of the hamlet of Serralunga d'Alba, where the winery is located.
For over thirty years, Luigi and Fiorina Baudana have grown the vineyards that have belonged to their family for generations. They cared for their vineyards with the same tenderness of their own love and with the same warmth emanating from their cellar, born under the vaults of their home.
From the very beginning, the Vaira family have been impressed by Luigi and Fiorina's ambition, as well as pride in their work. Their mission every day is for Luigi and Fiorina to be proud of the vineyards and of the wines, whilst perpetuating their gestures and seeking for the authenticity of every single vineyard.
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.