Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato, a vertical tasting

Barolo Ornato, made from grapes from a single Serralunga vineyard, is a cru wine that reflects Pio Boffa’s commitment and determination. Here is a vertical tasting of the past nine vintages.

At almost a year from the passing of Pio Boffa, who ran his historic estate for 40 years, I would like to remember him with a vertical tasting of the last nine vintages to come out of a wine that helped make his estate known to the world, an estate that recently celebrated its 140^th anniversary. The wine is a Barolo from the Ornato vineyard in Serralunga, which has produced a single cru wine since vintage 1985 and is considered one of the best Barolo around.

Pio Boffa used to recall how his father Giuseppe Boffa, and before him his grandfather Giseppe Boffa and great grandfather Pio Cesare, the estate’s founder, wanted nothing to do with a wine made from a single vineyard. “My father maintained that Barolo needed to be made with grapes from different areas in order to obtain the right balance. The areas of La Morra and Barolo produced the more elegant wines while those from Serralunga and Monforte had more body. A single vineyard, on the other hand, could not express that complexity and harmony.

I, on the other hand, also inspired by Luigi Veronelli, looked at the results achieved by Beppe Colla, at the Prunetto estate, as well as those of Elvio Cogno, Renato Ratti and Bruno Giocosa and, being a rash young man, sought to move in that direction. I was firmly convinced of the need to focus on the precise characteristics of a cru. In the end and after countless discussions I was able to convince my father and this led to the creation of Barolo Ornato, made with grapes from a single vineyard in Serralunga, and the Barbaresco Il Bricco, from a vineyard in Tresio”.

I remember Pio’s words well and I’m sure he had to work hard to get his way because he was only in his early 30s then and he was putting into question a family and local tradition that had existed for over a century. While today there are many Barolo made from specific single vineyards, back then this was considered a heresy, above all for a winery that had a century old tradition. But for Pio, Barolo Ornato represented the story of his life, it was a wine he firmly believed in and from a young age pushed for with determination and bullheadedness.

I also remember well when it first came out, in 1990. At the time, I was editing the Gambero Rosso and Slow Food guide and although he was not part of the nouvelle vague in the Langhe, the first vintage of that wine, 1985, won a prize hands down. Every year Pio would give me a couple of bottles, perhaps because that wine also symbolized the beginning of a true and strong friendship between us. I could not resist drinking the vintages before 2010, while I still had those from 2010 onwards and opened them for this vertical tasting which I dedicate to, aside from those who read it, his memory and once and again stand by his daughter Federica, his wife Nicoletta and his grandson Cesare.

The Ornato vineyard is situated between Briccolina and Falletto, south of Serra and north of Boscareto, in the southern part of the district. It is almost a hectare in size and its altitude ranges from 300 to 395m above sea level, where the calcareous clay soil is referred to as “Helvetian”. The grape cultivated in the area is naturally Nebbiolo, for the most part the Lampia variety but also some Michet. The wines it produces are typical “Serralung-esque”, with excellent body, “tight” tannins and a great propensity to age. Those of Pio Cesare mature for around three years in large barrels, with a small percentage in barriques. The vintages we look at here are the last nine to come on the market. Their average retail prices start at 100 euros.

Barolo Ornato 2010  

96/100 - € 120                                                               

100% Nebbiolo. Matured for three and a half years in barrels of different sizes. A lively and intense ruby-garnet color. The aroma has spice and slightly woody notes along with those of currant, violet, wild berries and tobacco. The mouthfeel is pronounced with tight, elegant and austere tannins, a taut and consistent yet agile body, with saline sensations and great persistence. A great version from a truly notable year.
 

Barolo Ornato 2011

96/100 - € 150                                                          

100% Nebbiolo. Matured for three and a half years in barrels of different sizes. A lively and intense ruby-garnet color. The bouquet is very complex with spice notes followed by those of currant, violet, licorice, underbrush and black tobacco. The mouthfeel is bold with tight tannins and a taut body and while young, the wine is already elegant and promises to have an unthinkably long lifespan. The persistence is very long. While this vintage is generally considered to be average, this version is formidable.
 

Barolo Ornato 2012

93/100 - € 100

100% Nebbiolo. Matured for three and a half years in barrels of different sizes. A ruby-garnet color. The austere aroma has notes of rhubarb followed by those of violet, pomegranate and vanilla. The mouthfeel has quite a punch and is very young with severe and tight tannins, a rich, powerful and warm body and it is very persistent. A tad edgy, the product of a particularly hot year.
 

Barolo Ornato 2013

97/100 - € 150

100% Nebbiolo. Matured for three and a half years in barrels of different sizes. An intense ruby-garnet color. The nose is austere and complex with notes of black cherry, rhubarb, lico
rice, violet and currant with hints of spice in the background. The mouthfeel is full and saline with youthful, thick and lively tannins, very promising, with excellent body and a finish with exceptional persistence. From the start this was considered a year destined to have a very long life and this is confirmed with this monumental Barolo.

Barolo Ornato 2014

95/100 - € 90 

100% Nebbiolo. Matured for three and a half years in barrels of different sizes. A lively garnet color. The bouquet has a nice complexity with balsamic and mentholated notes followed by those of rhubarb, licorice, violet and currant with hints of spice in the background. The mouthfeel is taut and balanced with a body that is not enormous but elegant and fine allowing for a great drinkability. A cool and wet harvest produced an agile wine with a relatively easier drinkability.
 

Barolo Ornato 2015

97/100 - € 100

100% Nebbiolo. Matured for three and a half years in barrels of different sizes. An intense ruby-garnet color. A complex and very intact aroma with well-defined notes of spice along with those of violet and currant and light ones of rhubarb, all elegant and refined. The mouthfeel is solid and taut, with tight tannins that are youthful but not drying, the body has a great “Serralung-esque” impact, austere and wrapping, with amazing persistence. A wine with great impact, a masterful interpretation of a great year.
 

Barolo Ornato 2016

97/100 - € 115 

100% Nebbiolo. Matured for three and a half years in barrels of different sizes. An intense and luminous garnet color. The bouquet is complex and articulated with notes of dark tobacco, hints of kirsch, spice, cinchona and violet. The mouthfeel is pronounced and youthful yet very promising with tight tannins, typical for the southern part of Serralunga, yet not dryin
g, warm, saline taut, very elegant even if young. A splendid version from an almost perfect year.

Barolo Ornato 2017

96/100 - € 100

100% Nebbiolo. Matured for three and a half years in barrels of different sizes. An intense ruby-garnet color. A complex and detailed aroma with scents of tobacco, licorice raspberry, maraschino cherry and hints of sweet spice. The mouthfeel is pronounced, warm and saline with thick, abundant yet elegant and polished tannins and an excellent body with a truly very long finish. A very dry and hot year interpreted masterfully.
 

Barolo Ornato 2018

97/100 - € 110

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