pio cesare barolo chinato nv 750ml

This historic family-owned estate is named after its founder Cesare Pio, who established the business in 1881. The winery is based in Alba, in the heart of Piemonte and is now run by Federica Boffa and Cesare Benvenuto, the fifth generation of the family. Pio Cesare developed Barolo’s reputation overseas in the 1950s by being one of the first producers to export the wine to the UK. The founder’s great grandson Pio Boffa was deeply convinced of the importance of cultivating and growing owned land to produce high quality wines and played a key role in the acquisition of vineyards in the same locations where Cesare Pio used to buy his grapes from. Today Pio Cesare owns 70 hectares in the hills of Barolo and Barbaresco and makes wines in a style that manages to balance the best of the old with the best of the new. The estate includes most of the municipalities in the Barolo and Barbaresco areas.

Since the beginning of Pio Cesare's history, the winery has produced limited quantities of Barolo Chinato and Vermouth, meticulously following the family recipe originally created by the founder. In the early 1950s, the winery decided to stop the production due to customers' changing tastes. They were increasingly focused on “liqueur” wines and vermouths with nontraditional flavors, less character and less respectful of each wine region’s terroir.

In recent years, discerning customers have begun to look for traditional character, strong personality and great individuality in aromatic wines and in wine-based aperitifs. As a result, Pio Cesare has decided to produce small amounts of Barolo Chinato and Vermouth. The winery follows the secret family recipe that has been safeguarded by the founder’s granddaughter.

Produced in small numbers, a limited quantity of Barolo Chinato and Vermouth is now destined for a select clientele in Italy and around the world. Pio Cesare is committed to bringing these great wines back again so that they can regain the acclaim they once had. 

WINEMAKING

An infusion of chinchona (China Calissaja and Succirubra barks) is macerated for 21 days in a small amount of the winery’s classic Barolo. The recipe then calls for a mixture of aromatic herbs, such as gentian roots, rhubarb, cardamom seeds, sweet and bitter orange, cinnamon and others, which all together compose the family recipe. After several weeks aging, the right amount of Barolo is added. After a light fining, the infusion is aged for four months in oak barrels, bottled, and after an additional aging of at least two months, it finally becomes Pio Cesare Barolo Chinato.

TASTING NOTES

The ideal digestif made with China Calissaja and Succirubra barks that macerate in the estate’s classic Barolo for 21 days.The notes of  gentian roots, rhubarb, cardamom seeds, sweet and bitter orange blend seamlessly with the purity of Nebbiolo and create an everlasting, rich finish.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM

RP94, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"The Pio Cesare NV Barolo Chinato pours from the bottle with a dark amber color with shiny chestnut highlights. This fortified digestif shows amazing purity and intensity, with aromas that you can list and identify clearly one by one. There is balsam and medicinal herb with minty cough syrupy, cola and candied orange peel. With time, you might also sense some Moroccan spice or toasted Spanish cedarwood. The alcohol content is registered at 16% although it surely feels much higher. Balanced sweetness wraps smoothly over the palate. I'm never quite sure how to assign a drinking window to Barolo Chinato, and it is ostensibly built to last forever."

JD94,Jeb Dunnuck

"A rich but transparent amber, the NV Barolo Chinato reveals notes of blood orange, baking spice, mocha, and rosemary, followed by a medium to full-bodied red with sweetness and delicate, attractive bitterness in its hints of tea leaf and orange peel. Lifted and not heavy, it would be perfect paired with chocolate."

500ml Bottle