Pio Cesare Barbaresco Pio DOCG
Piemonte, Italy
Vintage:2019 (Current)
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Reviews
Wine Spectator 93 Points
“A graceful, well-toned red, with a solid construction supporting aromas and flavors of cherry, strawberry, rose and graphite. Reveals flashes of tar and white pepper as this winds down on the resonant finish. Best from 2025 through 2043.”
The New Wine Review 93 Points
“Pale raspberry at the core, this wine has an attractively delicate nose of field strawberries, rose petals and savory spice. The palate has feather-soft tannins and riveting, spine-straightening acidity. The structure meshes nicely with the bountiful fruit character. While there’s a hint of a high alcohol tingle in the background, the fruit tastes remarkably fresh. Unusually, this is a very drinkable Nebbiolo, despite its notably youthful character.”
Jeb Dunnuck 92 Points
“A pale and youthful ruby, the 2019 Barbaresco Pio is elegant and lifted with fresh raspberry, fennel, dusty earth, and orange peel. Medium-bodied, with fine tannins, and angular acidity, it has vibrant fruit throughout. with a spine of tension notes of wild strawberry and dried apricot, and savory salinity. Drink 2025-2040.”
Owen Bargreen 94 Points
“The 2019 Barbaresco by Pio Cesare offers tart cranberry notes alongside salty soils, dusty minerals and shades of orange blossom on the nose. The palate is very soft and refined with silky tannins that frame a core of pure red fruits, with bergamot and red rose water. This is really good right now but consider giving it an hour in the decanter before consuming. Drink 2023-2038”
JamesSuckling.com 95 Points
“This is a very typical Barbaresco, with a solid core of fruit. Lots of strawberries, cedar and chewy tannins. Full and structured. Excellent length, with the tannins kicking in at the end. This needs at least four or five years of bottle age. Try after 2027.”
Overview
The Pio Cesare family’s unique winemaking method stresses minimal intervention to produce wines of particularly supple flavor expression. A ceaseless devotion to the individuality of each of the region’s wines informs Pio Cesare's choices in the cellar: shorter maceration, separate lot fermentation, judicious selection for barrel and large cask aging, and bottling schedules determined by the ideal structure of each wine. This allows Pio Cesare to craft wines of varying weight, ageability and drinkability as determined by the vineyard rather than market fashion.
This Barbaresco is produced using the classic “formula” of traditional families: a wine which embraces and combines each of the unique characteristics of the different terroirs of the appellation, sourcing grapes from the family's multiple vineyards in different communes.
Winemaking
The grapes are sourced exclusively from the Pio Cesare family’s vineyards: the famous “Il Bricco” estate and the great hill of San Stefanetto, both located in the village of Treiso. The wine is fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. There is skin contact for 20 days. Thirty-five percent of the wine is aged in French oak barriques (one-third new) for 30 months. The remaining 65 percent spends three years in French oak casks, 20 to 50 hectoliters each.
Tasting Notes
A traditional vintage delivering fresh fruits and beautiful aromas, with great structure and complexity, intense color and a balanced acidity, with sharp tannins but already approachable—all the classic components of the great outstanding vintages of Barbaresco.
Harvest Notes
The family started picking Nebbiolo in the Barbaresco region on October 10th at the Rocche di Massalupo vineyard, located in one of most premium districts of Alba: San Rocco Seno d’Elvio. The harvest continued at the family's historical historic estate, Il Bricco di Treiso. October 16th concluded the 2019 harvest in the last vineyard sites in Treiso (San Stunet and Bongiovanni).
Technical Information
Varietals: 100% Nebbiolo
Aging: 35% in French oak barriques (one-third new) for 2.5 years, 65% in French oak casks for 3 years