Pio Cesare Barbaresco Pio DOCG
Piemonte, Italy
Vintage:2021 (Current)
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Reviews
Jeb Dunnuck 92 Points
A bright red color, the 2021 Barbaresco Pio is focused, spicy, and pure on the palate. Coming mostly from Treiso, it offers notes of wild raspberries, clove spice, dried orange peel, and dried earth. Medium-bodied, it exhibits good linear tension and structured tannins, with a deeper structure derived from the Treiso soils, which are more akin to those of Barolo and will require time to soften. Drink 2025-2040.
JamesSuckling.com 96 Points
The aromas of iodine and oyster shell really come through together with black cherries and dark brambleberries. Medium body with firm and racy tannins that run the length of the wine. March 2025 release. Drinkable but even better in three or four years. Try after 2028.
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. 35 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, already approachable with its gentle tannins—all the classic components of the great vintages of Barbaresco.
Harvest Notes
2021 was a "later" harvest characterized by a long and cold winter, rich in abundant snow and rainfall which provided an excellent initial water supply to our soils, very precious to face the following months. The bud sprouting of Nebbiolo started towards the end of March, almost 15 days later than the previous year. Even though the delay characterized the entire season, until harvest time, the vegetative cycle of Nebbiolo was consistent and without any sudden excesses, thanks to the very constant temperatures. The vines could grow without any stress, reaching excellent quality and quantity levels.
With the precious expertise of the vineyard team, the Nebbiolo harvest in the Barbaresco region was completed between October 7th and 10th.
While revealing a terrific ageing potential, 2021 vintage enchants with a perfect balance between power and complexity, guaranteed by the family's unique terroirs especially in more traditional vintages, and elegance and finesse, the result of a stylistic refinement after many years of experience with the changing climate.
Technical Information
Varietals: 100% Nebbiolo
Harvest Start Date: October 7, 2021
Harvest End Date: October 10, 2021
Aging: 35% in French oak barriques (one-third new) for 2.5 years, 65% in French oak casks for 3 years