Winemaker Notes
Ruby and garnet red with brilliant hues. The nose is complex and with great character. Notes of mature fruits, mint, eucalyptus, gentian and fine spices. A rich palate in structure with a tight weave of fine tannins, standing out for its elegance and harmony which highlights this truly unique Barolo cru.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The Chiarlo name is practically synonymous with Cerequio. Boasting a substantial 9ha in this revered MGA which straddles La Morra and Barolo, the family has produced a separate bottling since 1988. The 2021 starts out brightly, proposing red cherry, raspberry and rose. It uplifts before then grounding as it develops captivating earthy complexities of eucalyptus, ginger and ginseng. Similar duality plays out on the palate, where frisky acidity and a lightness in step belies sneaky density of raspberry and rhubarb. Fresh, chalky tannins cling in all the right places., while liquorice root and mint tea enhance the finish.
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James Suckling
This is balsamic, with a touch of tile, licorice and some wild herbs. The palate is medium- bodied with tight, delineated and succulent fruit, firm tannins and lovely encompassing freshness. Very cohesive and integral. Better from 2026.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Showing the fundamental balance and intensity of the vintage, the Michele Chiarlo 2021 Barolo Cerequio does a good job of underlining the character of the grape and its environment. The aromas span a wide range, with cassis, orange peel, rose and toasted spice, without too much emphasis on any one of those elements. To the palate, the delivery is silky, polished and tight with finely knit tannins. This bottle has the qualities for a successful aging trajectory.
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Vinous
The 2021 Barolo Cerequio is redolent of black cherry, mocha, espresso, licorice, dried flowers and spice. As always, Chiarlo interprets Cerequio in a pretty rich, deep style. I find the 2021 to have plenty of those qualities, but with a bit more refinement and less heaviness than in the past. That's a very positive development in my view. There's a lot to like in this dramatic, ample Barolo.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A seductive and introspective wine, the 2021 Barolo Cerequio has a matte red hue and offers layered aromas of polished leather, preserved cherries, candied flowers, truffle, and mossy earth. It fills the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, ripe tannins, even acidity, and deeper gamey richness through the mid-palate and finish. It’s nicely styled and should continue to improve over the next 10-12 years.
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Wine Spectator
A mix of fruity and savory, this red boasts cherry, raspberry, menthol, iron and tobacco aromas and flavors. Starts out fluid before tightening up on the dusty finish.
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.