Ripe, succulent strawberry and raspberry fruit on the nose, thinning out somewhat when it meets the fine, firm tannin on the medium palate. But there’s enough on the finish to recommend holding this for a year or two. Try from 2023.
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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 (Serralunga & La Morra), Langhe, Roero, Alta Langa VIEW IN GOOGLE MAPS REGION DETAILS |
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91
OCTOBER 2022
Enrico Serafino "Monclivio" Barolo DOCG 2018
![]() Ripe, succulent strawberry and raspberry fruit on the nose, thinning out somewhat when it meets the fine, firm tannin on the medium palate. But there’s enough on the finish to recommend holding this for a year or two. Try from 2023. 94
OCTOBER 2023
Enrico Serafino Barolo Serralunga DOCG 2018
![]() This single-vineyard selection from the township of Serralunga d’Alba opens with attractive aromas of ripe berry and a potpourri of spice. On the palate, taut, fine-grained tannins accompany ripe red cherry, star anise and baking spice juicy before a rather grippy finish. A note recalling almond liqueur signals the close. Drink 2023–2033. 90
JUNE 2021
Enrico Serafino "Grifo del Quartaro" Gavi del Comune di Gavi 2020
![]() With 50,000 bottles released, the Enrico Serafino 2020 Gavi del Comune di Gavi Grifo del Quartaro is a bright and luminous wine that shines with glossy intensity. The bouquet is redolent of citrus, blanched almond, peach and summer dried hay. The Cortese grape always shows a tight mineral note that gives focus to these fun and informal results (offered at a steal of a price). 93
DECEMBER 2022
Enrico Serafino Zero 140 Alta Langa Brut DOCG Riserva 2009
![]() This is rich and creamy with aromas of dried fruit, toffee, roasted almonds and pie crust. Full-bodied with a silky mousse and creamy texture, yet fresh with crunchy acidity. Toned, structured and energetic. A lot going on at the mid-palate with delicate lees sensation and a lingering, mineral finish. Drink or hold. 95
JUNE 2021
Enrico Serafino Zero 140 Alta Langa Brut DOCG Riserva 2008
![]() Aged on the lees for 140 months (said to be the longest lees-aged sparkling wine in Italy), the Enrico Serafino 2008 Alta Langa Metodo Classico Pas Dosé Riserva Zero 140 is a sparkling blend of 85% Pinot Nero and 15% Chardonnay. Fruit is from the cool, high-altitude growing sites and sedimentary marine soils of northern Piedmont. The front of this bottle has a little metal seashell embossed into the glass. This wine is round and soft, yet it also shows exceptional depth and elegance. The primary fruit is so intact and bright that the wine definitely appears younger than its real years. Layers of preserved lemon and sweet peach play off each other, adding freshness and fiber to these beautiful results. At the very end, you get a silky note of pure honey. This is a tiny production of just 950 precious bottles. 95
OCTOBER 2022
Enrico Serafino “Zero” Alta Langa DOCG Brut 2016
![]() Top 50 Italian Wines of 2022 - #35 All about elegance and structure, this gorgeous sparkler has inviting aromas of pastry dough, hay, baking spice and a whiff of hazelnut. Creamy and elegant, it’s dry, savory and focused, delivering layers of flavors including juicy pomegranate, pastry dough, citrus and star anise alongside veins of mineral recalling saline and flint. It closes on notes of vanilla and orange zest while an extremely refined, persistent perlage lends finesse. Drink through 2036. ![]() NOVEMBER 2022
Enrico Serafino “Zero” Alta Langa DOCG Brut 2016
![]() 90
MAY 2023
Enrico Serafino “Zero” Alta Langa DOCG Brut 2017
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