2019 Barolo Cerretta

These are some of the most impressive wines I have tasted from Luigi Baudana, the Serralunga estate the Vajra family has managed since 2009. The wines are made at the Baudana winery in Serralunga, and then raised in the Vajra family's large facility in Barolo. All three Barolos are exceptional, from the village wine to the two crus. The Baudana Barolo is the more fruit-forward of the two single-vineyard Barolos, while the Cerretta is slightly darker and more muscular.

"It was a year with an early bud break but with late flowering and a late harvest; in other words, a year with a long growing season, one of the longest of the last decade." Giuseppe Vajra explained. "We had challenges with heavy rain in spring, but 2018 helped us understand we had to act quickly and decisively, so we did," he added. Harvest took place between October 11 and 18. "The wines extracted easily," Aldo Vajra opined. "We gave the 2019s 28 days on the skins, less than 2018 and 2017 and far less than years like 2010, with submerged cap maceration. Time in wood was about 21 months for the vineyard designates.”