Barolo Serralunga, Ettore Germano

About the wine

The Barolo Serralunga from Ettore Germano puts up a strong argument for the best value, premium Barolo anywhere in the wine world. Sergio Germano has crafted a Barolo here that offers notes of strawberries, cherries, dried rose, liquorice, aniseed, dried herbs, earthy tar and violets. It’s the combination of ethereal fruit and dark undertones that has garnered Barolo so many fans across the wine world, and this Barolo Serralunga is the perfect example as to why. The freshness on the palate is upgraded by the beautiful full body and firm, enveloping tannins This wine would be a great match to braised venison or game pie.

The grapes for this 100% Nebbiolo wine come from across Germano’s vineyards in Prapò, Cerretta and Lazzarito, all of which face south or east, ensuring maximum exposure to the sun so that the tricky Nebbiolo grapes can ripen fully. During fermentation the wine spends 20-30 days on the skins, following which it spends between 18-24 months in oak barrels of different sizes. All of this care and attention ensures that Germano’s Nebbiolo grapes express all of their many guises, red fruits, flowers, earth and spice.

About the wine

Serralunga is known as the powerful backbone of Barolo, the old soils here mean the vines have to dig deep for nutrients and water, so the wines are often with firm tannins, high acidity and dark, spicy fruit. Sergio Germano is the fourth generation Germano to cultivate the land here and produce wine under the Etttore Germano name. In the past decade or so, we have watched Sergio completely change the style of Barolo he produces, preferring now a more traditionalist approach, and he currently produces some of the most exquisite Barolos – showcasing all of Serralunga’s punch but with an elegance that is hard to come by.