2018 Ettore Germano Serralunga d’Alba Barolo (half-bottle)

Responsibly Farmed
Hidden Gem
Classic in Style

Incredibly elegant, medium-bodied Barolo with firm tannins and a smooth structure. Aged for 24 months in large barrels, 12 months in bottle.

Certified organic farming practices, hand-harvested, native yeast fermentation and only 875 cases produced annually.

Red
  • Tasting Notes strawberry, white cherry, pomegranate, rose, violet, licorice, cigar box
  • Variety Nebbiolo
  • Region Italy, Piedmont
  • Volume 750ml
  • Alcohol Volume 14.5%
  • Table Talk The winery is still named after Ettore, Sergio’s father, who grew grapes, made a little wine for private customers, and was known throughout the area for his skill in grafting vines.

$35.00

Out of stock

A tall medieval tower dominates the village of Serralunga, on the south-east edge of the Barolo appellation, giving fair warning of the character of the wines grown there: structured, substantial, uncompromising. Sergio Germano, whose winery is a few minutes walk north of Serralunga, completed six years of study at the School of Enology in Alba, then made wine for a few years at Fontanafredda, one of the larger wineries in the area, before returning to the family estate in 1993. The winery is still named after Ettore, Sergio’s father, who grew grapes, made a little wine for private customers, and was known throughout the area for his skill in grafting vines.

My ideal winemaker in a traditional appellation like Barolo has the scientific understanding of winemaking that his predecessors lacked, while still respecting the traditions that they developed. Sergio Germano is just such a winemaker, and his Serralunga Barolos will never be creamy, international-style wines. Great wine is always made in the vineyard, and Sergio does much of the fieldwork himself, with the help of his wife Elena and a small crew. Some of the wines are 100% traditional, made with long macerations and big barrels, and some are made with medium-sized barrels, but they all express the best of these local grape varieties.

Sergio has vineyards in two quite different areas, which allows him to make an unusual range of wine types. Germano’s Barolo and red wine vineyards are all in the commune of Serralunga, in the south-east corner of the Barolo appellation. The soils here are rich in limestone, clay, and sand; they tend to produce wines with more structure than those of the western half of the Barolo appellation (around the villages of Barolo and La Morra). This is particularly true of Nebbiolo, but also for the other varieties, such as Dolcetto.

NEBBIOLO
Italy’s best kept treasure. Nebbiolo produces some of the greatest wines in the world, but is hardly planted outside of its home country. Famous to Italy’s Piedmont region, look for these twin stars that are 100% Nebbiolo: Barolo and Barbaresco. This renowned grape produces glorious red wine containing complex flavors with high acid and tannin, allowing these babies (in the right hands) to age for years to come. Grab yourself a bottle, or three, and see for yourself what these wines can do!

BAROLO, PIEDMONT, ITALY
You’ll often hear Barolo associated with some of Italy’s greatest wines. This is because the wine here is grown at altitudes with south-facing slopes (towards the sunlight) allowing the grapes to ripen slowly developing perfumed aromas, sour cherries, herbs, and floral characteristics. Barolo’s are infamous for being the biggest and boldest of the black variety Nebbiolo. In the best years, Barolo will develop high acidity and high tannin with a full body and the potential to continue to develop its characteristics within the bottle. Many Barolo’s will actually benefit in complexity and structure from further bottle aging. These wines can be sourced from different villages or purely from one village, which would then be stated on the label. The best wines here will come from a single-named vineyard or “cru.” In Barolo DOCG, the primary designated area, the wine must be made entirely from the Nebbiolo grape, spend 18 months in oak, and aged for three years before release.