Video

Pio Cesare's Federica Boffa and Cesare Benvenuto on "elegant" 2020 Barolo and Barbarescos

James Suckling sits down with Pio Cesare owner Federica Boffa and winemaker Cesare Benvenuto to discuss the virtues of the 2020 vintage in Piedmont, Italy, particularly for Barolo and Barbaresco. Benvenuto said it "is quite a modern vintage" and described the estate’s 2020 Barbaresco and Barolo releases as “elegant” and on par with benchmark years of the past like 1998. He added that the 2020 wines achieved “purity of fruit” and will give pleasure early while evolving gracefully. James praised the wines’ balance and finesse, drawing parallels to the classics of Pio Cesare’s history. "One thing that strikes me with the 2020 vintage is that purity of fruit. The fruit is so beautiful in '20, and it has beautiful tannins. It reminds me of like a modern 2000 or even '98," James said. "The wines have such beauty, and at the same time they do have structure and they're beautiful to drink now but they also will live a long time."