2017 Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato
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Tasting notes
Grapes are hand-picked and fermented in stainless steel with skin contact for 15 days, then aged in medium-toasted French oak for 36 months. Transparent ruby. Haunting aroma – very intense and piercing. Sweet, rather gentle palate entry with some smoked liquorice. Still a long way to go and it would be absolutely necessary to eat with this! But the wine has some agreeable transparency. Well done! (JR)
Critic scores
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
The 2017 Barolo Ornato offers a bit more mid-palate density and volume than the Mosconi tasted alongside it. Like that wine, it is an infant that will need time to truly blossom. Sweet red cherry, sage, mint, rosewater and dried flowers lend striking intrigue throughout. The Ornato is a super-impressive wine that shows the more finessed style Pio Cesare has been pursuing over the last few years. (AG)
Serralunga d'Alba. Just mid ruby with orange tinges. Sweet and a little monolithic on the nose and with hints of Moroccan leather. Rich palate with dried-fruit notes and a brooding layer of ripe cherry. Really complex and pulled up by fresh acidity. Very long and generous and with coating tannins sticking to the generous fruit. A fascinating wine. (WS)
With fruit from the village of Serralunga d'Alba, the Pio Cesare 2017 Barolo Ornato exhibits a richer textural style and more concentrated fruit flavors compared to all the other Nebbiolo-based wines in this portfolio. Dark cassis and blackberry segue to black licorice and tarry smoke. Those signature hints of rusty nail, earth and candied orange peel that are so specific to this village are also quite evident. The wine shows structure and depth that will help it withstand extra cellar aging.