Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato DOCG

Description

Pio Cesare Ornato Barolo is a single vineyard Barolo made from grapes sourced from three differents plots of the famous family-owned Ornato Estate in Serralunga d’Alba, one of the top vineyards in the whole Barolo area. The first Barolo Ornato was produced in 1985. Since then, it has only been produced in outstanding years.

In the 1950s Pio Cesare was one of the first producers to export Barolo to the UK and thereby developing the wine’s reputation overseas. Today, the founder’s great grandson, Pio Boffa, continues the family tradition producing Piemontese wines in a style that manages to balance the best of the old with the best of the new. 

Pio Cesare is named after its founder Cesare Pio, who established the business in 1881. It is based in Alba in the heart of the Piemonte region, nestled between the Alps and the Mediterranean Sea. The surrounding hills provide a handful of ideal exposures for grape growing with unique micro-climates. The confluence of cold Alpine air with warm maritime moisture regularly creates a misty glow, or “nebbia”, over these foothills, hence the name of Nebbiolo for the , the great red variety of the region. Pio Cesare own 70 hectares of vineyards in the hills of Barolo and Barbaresco, including some of the prime sites for growing Nebbiolo: 16 hectares of the ‘Ornato’ vineyard in Barolo and 18 hectares of ‘Il Bricco’ in Barbaresco.

Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato is a more modern in style than their traditional Barolo, but still true to its roots. The grapes for this wine come from a small selection of “nebbioli” from Cesare family-owned vineyards in Cascina Ornato. The characteristics of the soil, the microclimate and favourable exposure, allows the grapes to become extremely rich. Fermentation at a slightly higher temperature, together with skin maceration for 12 days, produces a wine with great soft tannins. 

Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato is 100% Nebbiolo. Hand-picked. After pressing, the grapes are fermented in stainless steel with skin contact for 15 days and aged  in large oak “botti” for about 30 months with a small amount in French oak barriques for the first 12 months.