Barolo Lazzarito, the essence of Serralunga d'Alba

One of the Barolo personalities I have had the pleasure of knowing for some time, and who a few years ago guided me through a visit to his winery during one of my study trips, is Sergio Germano, son of Ettore - the founder of the winery that bears his name - and representative of the fourth generation of this Barolo family. Azienda Ettore Germano is located on a lush green hill in località Cerretta, a hamlet of Serralunga d'Alba in the Langhe, in the easternmost part of the Barolo wine district.

The Langhe have not always looked as we know them today. During the geological epoch of the Miocene, where today we find gentle hills covered with vineyards and hazelnut groves, there was once a vast marine gulf. About 15 million years ago, starting from the Helvetian period, following slow but constant sedimentation, the territories of Serralunga, to the southeast of Alba, began to emerge from the sea first. The process of land emergence, which lasted millions of years, concluded in the more recent Messinian period around 7 million years ago, so that the territory took on more or less its current geomorphological configuration. The area where Azienda Ettore Germano is located, among the first in the district to emerge from the sea, has a more compact soil structure, with a subsoil that alternates between marls and sandstones. The hardness that stems from this characteristic of the soils is then reflected in the wines, which are typically more structured and tannic, very long-lived and in need of longer aging.

Cantina Ettore Germano produces excellent wines that I periodically return to taste, including some extraordinary whites such as Riesling Herzu, sparkling wines, and reds such as Barolo Prapò, Ceretta and Lazzarito, all cru di Barolo from the municipality of Serralunga d'Alba. Today I will tell the story of Barolo Lazzarito Riserva 2012, the vintage currently on the market. Sergio's production philosophy is focused on maximum respect for an extraordinary territory, which must be preserved by protecting biodiversity and where mass, standardized production is absolutely to be excluded.

Barolo Lazzarito is obtained from Nebbiolo grapes coming from a vineyard of less than one hectare, highly suited to viticulture and nearly 90 years old. The vines, subject to proper dry and green pruning, and for which the use of pesticides and insecticides is avoided, are in excellent health and vigor. The vineyard, planted on land that therefore dates back to an ancient era of formation from the Helvetian period of the Miocene, is situated at an altitude between 320 and 360 meters above sea level and enjoys an optimal south-southwest exposure. The soil has an overall calcareous-marly composition with small percentages of sand. The vine density is 6,000 plants per hectare and the wine yield per hectare is only 45 hectoliters.

The grape harvest is manual and is carried out in crates at advanced ripeness, usually in late October. In the winery the grapes are destemmed and pressed in steel tanks where alcoholic fermentation takes place with skin maceration. Vinification continues for up to 60 days, during which several daily pump-overs are performed to promote the extraction of color and tannins. After racking and malolactic fermentation, the wine is placed in 20-hectoliter barrels where it rests for an aging period of 36 months. It is then bottled to rest for a further 24 months in bottle before being released to market as a Riserva.

Let us move on to the tasting of the wine.

Barolo Lazzarito Riserva 2012

A beautiful brilliant ruby red color with garnet reflections, swirling the glass the wine forms thick tears that reveal great consistency and softness, owing to an undeniable glyceric concentration. Very fine and intense on the nose, it is broad with prominent aromas of violet and small red fruits, particularly blackberries and plum; it then expresses notes of undergrowth, spices, roasted coffee, balsamic hints and liquorice on the finish. A wide palate characterized by great freshness and minerality, with the softness not entirely compensating for the enormous tannin perceptible throughout the entire oral cavity. It closes with a very long retro-olfactory trail of liquorice that lingers for several minutes.

An austere Barolo, it is entirely intuitive that it will give its best after several more years of bottle aging. But today it can certainly be paired with great roasts subjected to long cooking, preferably aromatized.