Winemaker Notes
Pair this wine with beef, buffalo, boar and venison dishes, rich stews and aged Parmesan.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of dark berry steeped in spirits, baking spice, crushed flower, mocha, eucalyptus and pipe tobacco come together on this stunning wine. The firm palate boasts more fruit than many from this vintage, delivering juicy dark cherry, ripe raspberry, vanilla, cake spice and licorice alongside firm but refined tannins and bright acidity. It’s youthfully assertive but balanced, with serious aging potential. Drink 2021–2041.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 Barolo Cerequio is another spectacular offering from Michele Chiarlo, a producer who has a knack for making faithfully consistent wines no matter what the vintage conditions. What stands out here is the balance and the intensity of the fruit. Fragrant tones of dark fruit, dried cherry, liquid smoke, cola and licorice emerge from the bouquet in a steady stream. That continuous and unbroken flow of goodness segues to the palate.
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James Suckling
A medium to full-bodied red, with strawberry, plum and meat character. Fine tannins. Savory finish. Delicious now. But better in 2018.
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Wine & Spirits
Michele Ciarlo's Cerequio plot sits at 1,200 feet in elevation, bringing delicate aromas of orange blossom and menthol to the wine. Notes of tobacco, peat and spice add earthiness to the vibrant black cherry flavors, while the tannins feel polished and elegant.
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Wine Spectator
A hint of orange peel in the aroma makes this distinctive, followed by cherry, strawberry, leather and tobacco notes. Tight yet balanced, ending with tobacco and spice accents. Best from 2019 through 2035.
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.