Pio Cesare Barolo Pio DOCG

Piemonte, Italy

Vintage:2022 (Current)

2019 (Past) | 2020 (Past) | 2021 (Current) |

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Pio Cesare Barolo Pio DOCG 2022
  • JS 97
  • D 93
  • JD 93

Reviews

Jeb Dunnuck 93 Points April 2026, Audrey Frick

The 2022 Barolo Pio pours a medium ruby hue and has a beautiful perfume of cherry cordial, spice, and incense. This flagship bottling blends fruit from nine vineyards, with significant portions coming from Serralunga and Monforte d’Alba, along with parcels in Novello, La Morra, and Grinzane Cavour. Medium-bodied, it expands across the palate with surprising levity, ripe tannins, refreshing acidity, and very good length. Drink 2026-2038.

JamesSuckling.com 97 Points January 2026, Aldo Fiordelli

One of the best Barolos that Pio has ever made. A perfumed wine, slightly but pleasantly old-fashioned and full of personality. Open, generous aromas of mint, flowers, wild strawberries and pomegranate join vibrant violets and bergamot. Full-bodied and very juicy with firm, grainy tannins, well integrated and polished. Delicious licorice flavor, a bit chocolaty, with persistent acidity and a savory umami finish. Impressive and classic. Drink or hold.

Decanter 93 Points November 2025, Michaela Morris

Pio Cesare’s historic Barolo takes its lion’s share from Serralunga. Vineyards in Monforte, Grinzane Cavour, La Morra and Novello round it out. A solid showing in 2022 makes another strong case for blending. Delightful from the get-go, it exhibits balsamic herb, dusty earth, black tea and dried cherry. Elegantly weighted but properly mouth filling, the palate brings in savoury iron, thyme blossom and a blood orange tang. Sweet tannins are seamlessly embedded giving crisp structure. Firm yet friendly. Leaves behind a mineral trail.

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 Barolo is produced using the classic “formula” of traditional Barolo 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 from family-owned vineyards in Serralunga d’Alba (Ornato, la Serra, la Briccolina, Lirano), Grinzane Cavour (Gustava, Garretti), La Morra (Roncaglie), Novello (Ravera), and Monforte d’Alba (Mosconi). Vinification takes place in stainless steel tanks, with skin contact for about 30 days. The wine is aged in mid-toasted French oak for three years: 70 percent in 20 to 50 hectoliter casks; 30 percent in barriques.

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 Barolo.

Technical Information

Varietals: 100% Nebbiolo

Wine Alcohol: 14.5%