Vietti - Barolo Cerequio 2020 (750ml)
Wine Spectator: 95 Points
This aromatic red delivers cherry raspberry and boysenberry flavors alongside balsamic notes of eucalyptus juniper and wild herbs. Strikes a nice balance between grace and power with firm tannins and a mineral streak underlining the long aftertaste. Best from 2027 through 2046. ?B.S.
Vinous: 95+ Points
The 2020 Barolo Cerequio once again confirms that buying this vineyard is one of the smartest decisions Vietti ever made. A wine of nuance and class the Cerequio captures all the pedigree of this great site. Crushed red berry fruit kirsch blood orange spice and mint soar out of the glass all framed by nervy tannins that convey classicism. This is an exotic racy Barolo. - By Antonio Galloni on November 2023 I tasted a wide range of wines on my most recent visit to Vietti. Starting with the 2020 Barolos I tasted every wine from a just-opened bottle and a bottle that had been double-decanted two hours prior to my arrival. Aeration can be a tricky thing with young just-bottled wines. Sometimes air can help young wines open but also shut them down hard. In 2020 the double-decanted bottles showed better. Overall there is a bit more variation from wine to wine than I am used to seeing while some of the Barolos are on the lighter side. In 2020 virtually all the fruit for the single-vineyard Barolos was picked in late September before the early October rains. Harvest resumed on October 5 with the second portion of Lazzarito and various parcels used in the Barolo Castiglione. The 2020s spent about 24 days on the skins with submerged cap maceration for most lots. Time in cask was 24-26 months. Readers will note several new wines in the range. Vietti?s 2019 Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà is stellar. The same is true incidentally of the 2020 Barbaresco Roncaglie. I have long admired the Barbarescos here. That is once again the case this year. The 2016 Barolo Riserva is the next incarnation of the 2015 Barolo Riserva that was released last year but it was made from different vineyards and vinified with a high percentage of whole clusters. I would be remiss if I did not spend some time on the entry-level offerings. The 2021 Barberas are fabulous. These are wines I bought often as a young consumer and continue to enjoy as often as possible. Ripeness and oak impact have been dialed back which really allows the purity of the fruit to come through.
vWine Advocate: 94 Points
The Vietti 2020 Barolo Cerequio (with 3866 bottles made) has a little more hot-vintage thickness or softness on the mid-palate and shows aromas of dark cherry dried mint licorice root and naval orange. The fruit is a little more one-dimensional in 2020 although the acidity is there and the fruit tannins feel velvety and chalky. The wine completes malolactic fermentation in barrique and then goes into large oak casks for two years. Vietti has access to Nebbiolo from 10 MGA sites to make the various wines in its ample portfolio. We also have a new wine to celebrate?the 2019 Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà?that knocks it out of the ballpark with its inaugural release. Published: Apr 04 2024
