A dense, fruity nebbiolo with lots of ripe plums and hints of cedar. Some milk chocolate, too. Full body, round tannins and a flavorful finish. Baby Barolo. Drink or hold.
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The story of the Enrico Serafino winery is the story of Roero, one of Piedmont’s key winegrowing areas. Roero faces the famous Langhe hills across the Tanaro River in the northeast part of Cuneo Province, and together with Monferrato to the east, Roero and Langhe are recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site for their beauty and their winemaking traditions. Enrico Serafino is the oldest winery in the area, having been established by a gentleman of the same name in Canale d’Alba in 1878. The winery has now been in operation continuously in its original location for 140 years.
In typical Piemontese fashion, founder Enrico Serafino made a wide array of different wines, using grapes grown in areas that even then were known for their high quality, such as Barolo and Gavi. Under modern laws, the wines of a denomination must normally be made inside the specified winegrowing boundaries, but this was long before the first DOC laws were passed in Italy, and it was not unusual for wineries to bring in fruit from any number of neighboring communes. Due to its very long history of making Barolo in Canale, the Enrico Serafino winery is grandfathered as an exception to the requirement to vinify Barolo inside the limits of the Barolo DOCG. Today the winery owns 25 acres of Barolo vineyards in the renowned areas of Serralunga, Monforte d'Alba, and Castiglione Falletto and also makes traditional red wines of Barbera d'Alba and Nebbiolo d'Alba.
Less typically, Serafino in 1878 also began making metodo classico sparkling wines. At that time, sparkling wines as we know them today (wines that were clear of yeast sediment and didn't routinely explode) were a relative novelty. The process had really been mastered in Champagne only a couple of decades earlier, and the procedures and technology were just starting to be available outside Champagne. But sparkling Moscato was beginning to be made in Piedmont, and Serafino was a trailblazer for the nascent industry.
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LOCATIONWINERY: Canale (Cuneo province), Piedmont VINEYARD: Barolo, Langhe, Roero, Southern Piedmont VIEW IN GOOGLE MAPS REGION DETAILS |
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92
AUGUST 2020
Enrico Serafino "Picotener" Langhe DOC 2018
![]() A dense, fruity nebbiolo with lots of ripe plums and hints of cedar. Some milk chocolate, too. Full body, round tannins and a flavorful finish. Baby Barolo. Drink or hold. 95+
JULY 2020
Enrico Serafino Zero 140 Alta Langa Brut DOCG Riserva 2007
![]() This is a special wine with the words "pianeta, terra, planet, earth" painted by hand at the bottom of the bottle. The Enrico Serafino 2007 Alta Langa Metodo Classico Pas Dosé Riserva Zero 140 opens to a pale gold color and shows immediate warmness and creaminess. This sparkling blend of 85% Pinot Nero and 15% Chardonnay is very inviting. You get poached pear and peach with toasted almond and baked bread. The texture is soft and rich with fine, soft beading that keeps the wine lively and fresh to the end. It ages on the lees for a whopping 140 months, or 12 years. In fact, the winery claims that this is the longest-aging sparkling wine produced in Italy. A precious few 890 bottles were made (and my sample was disgorged at the end of January 2020). 90
AUGUST 2020
Enrico Serafino "Grifo del Quartaro" Gavi di Gavi DOCG 2019
![]() A crisp, fruity white with sliced-apple and white-peach character. Medium body and a stony, sliced-lemon aftertaste. Drink now. ![]() DECEMBER 2020
Enrico Serafino Barolo Serralunga DOCG 2016
![]() This family produced wine from the commune of Serralunga has a light prune color and aromas of raspberries, cranberries, plums, graphite, black pepper and young—and yet unpicked—strawberries. Tannic in the mouth, but well matched with acidity and tastes that include those of raspberries, prunes and morel mushrooms. This is fresh and approachable and buzzing with ripe young fruit flavors—consider it the Fleurie of Barolo. 90
NOVEMBER 2020
Enrico Serafino Barolo Serralunga DOCG 2015
![]() The Krause family bought this Roero based winery in 2015 and also acquired 4.9 vineyard acres in Serralunga d’Alba to make the first vintage of this comune wine. Serafino’s vines are located in the Carpena and Meriame crus, both on Serralunga’s western slopes. The wine shows both the ripeness of the warm 2015 vintage and the powerful tannins characteristic of Serralunga. It rested in tonneaux and larger oak casks for 28 months, gaining notes of smoke and spice that accent the dark cherry fruit. 92
JULY 2020
Enrico Serafino "Oudeis" Alta Langa DOCG Brut 2016
![]() This is another fun wine in a long list of Classic Method sparkling wines from Alta Langa (north of Barolo and Barbaresco). The Enrico Serafino 2016 Alta Langa Metodo Classico Oudeis Brut offers a rich and fleshy expression with lots of orchard fruit, Golden Delicious apple and toasted pine nut. This sparkling wine, made with 85% Pinot Nero and 15% Chardonnay, reaches just the right level of intensity with generous texture that is never too heavy or flat. The wine's determined energy is its most compelling aspect. It ages on the lees for 36 months. Some 80,000 bottles were released. ![]() DECEMBER 2020
Enrico Serafino "Oudeis" Alta Langa DOCG Brut 2016
![]() HOLIDAY VINTAGES FROM SIX ITALIAN WINE REGIONS "Oudeis" means Odysseus, the Greek sailor and adventurer. This 85/15 Pinot Noir/Chardonnay blend sparkling wine is fermented for six months on the lees with regular stirring, then spends a further 36 months on lees for the second fermentation. This is a very approachable and easy-drinking sparkling wine with vibrant acidity that could be lined up to kick off a late afternoon gathering. Full and distinguished aromas of tropical fruits, toast (from the battonage, or stirring) pine needles and honey and a taste that includes the flavors of mandarins and breadcrumbs. |