Roberto Voerzio, Barolo Riserva DOCG, Case Nere Riserva 10 Anni

Roberto Voerzio is one of the most acclaimed wine producers in Piedmont. His Barolo wines are highly prized at auction and are known for being ripe, rich, and less tannic and oaky than many other examples of the famous appellation. The estate owns or manages 8.5 hectares (21 acres) of vineyards around La Morra, with high planting densities producing tiny yields. There are six different parcels in a range of Barolo crus: Brunate, Cerequio, Capalot, La Serra, Pozzo dell Annunziata and Sarmassa di Barolo, which are all sources for individual cuvees. In addition, 2013 saw the release of the first vintage the 2003 of the Fossati Case Nere 10 Anni Riserva. The portfolio is completed by two leading Barbera d'Alba wines including the benchmark Vignasse, a Dolcetto d'Alba, Langhe Merlot, and a Langhe Nebbiolo. Roberto Voerzio is regarded as an arch modernist, but this is more evident in the style of the finished wine rather than the methodology behind it. Grapes are harvested by hand. Fermentation on indigenous yeasts lasts from 10 to 30 days in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks. Malolactic conversion happens also in the tank. The estate s Dolcetto is aged in the tank; the Barbera and Barolo cru wines are aged in a combination of French oak barrels, tonneaux and botti. Wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered, with little added sulfur. The estate was formed in the 1980s when Roberto inherited 5ha (12.5 acres) of his father's vineyards. His brother Gianni makes wine a few hundred meters away.