Serralunga is the only village that is more Barolo than Barolo itself.
Barolo, the DOC, may get its name from Barolo, the village, but the essence of Barolo - its power, its structure, its nuance, its cherry fruit, its aromas - is found more in Serralunga than anywhere else.
I love Serralunga, and that is why.
That’s a personal impression, of course, but I have a couple of facts and figures to back me up!
One is the marketplace. I think it is no accident that Barolo’s greatest wine - both in terms of the price it commands in the marketplace but also by general reputation among consumers, critics and the Piedmontese themselves - is Monfortino, a wine that is entirely from Serralunga. Bruno Giacosa’s high-priced red label Barolos are also from Serralunga. And Barolo’s cultiest and most allocated wine is made by Cappellano - also from Serralunga. I’ve also heard that back in the day when most grapes were sold to large producers (Pio Cesare etc.), grapes from Serralunga were among the most expensive.
It’s also true in terms of terroir. The key to Barolo is its limestone, and there is more limestone in Serralunga than anywhere else. That’s why you get the power! That’s why Serralunga is at the opposite end of the Barolo scale that I presented in the La Morra blog post:
You might look at this graphic and conclude that Serralunga lacks elegance and aroma. But that’s not really how the graphic works.
Barolo from La Morra is powerful; Barolo from Serralunga is elegant. It’s all Barolo after all! It’s more a question of what element of the wine is emphasized.
Believe me, a great Serralunga is a beautifully elegant wine. This has been increasingly true in recent years as producers have learned to better manage tannins - mostly using green harvests to get them to ripen better, and therefore presentl less harshly.
Of course, Serralunga is itself a complex place with lots of internal diversity. That’s why it needs this blog post!
Serralunga, the Big Picture
Remember this graphic from the Monforte guide that shows Barolo as mostly consisting of three chains of hills, separated by north-south valleys?
Well, as you can see, aside from a couple minor villages at the very top, like Diano d’Alba, Serralunga pretty much gets the entire eastern chain to itself.
Right away you can see that Serralunga is special! You might also be reminded of La Morra, another special village with vineyards sloping down a long ridge. Also like La Morra, the village of Serralunga sits at the top of this ridge, the medieval castle that dominates the village looming over the surrounding hectares of vines.
But there is an important difference to note when comparing Serralunga with La Morra. Most of La Morra’s great vineyards all lie on the slopes descending eastward. In Serralunga, famous sites lie on both sides of the ridge. This means you get both east-facing sites - which typically give more acid - and west-facing sites - more power.
But Serrralunga’s ridge is also more broken up than La Morra’s and behaves a little bit more like a series of small hills, with some vineyards pointing south or north.
All to say, the terroir changes faster and is slightly more expressive here. The village is broken into a larger number of smaller Crus. It keeps things interesting! (And it means you really need this guide, right?)
So what does Barolo from Serralunga taste like?
We have talked about Serralunga’s power and structure, but that is not its only defining feature.
This is also, alongside Monforte, a place where Nebbiolo’s cherry side is strongest.
And wild herbs! Here is where sage comes to the forefront, but also rosemary and oregano. In the past, when the tannins did not always get fully ripe, these herbaceous flavors were sometimes too strong and green - though years of cellaring tended to help. Now, with better tannin management (mainly green harvests that help accelerate phenolic ripening), the herbaceous flavors are finer and they contribute to the enjoyment and complexity of the wine.
Barolo is an extreme wine. And Serralnga is extreme Barolo!
Shall we take a trip through the top vineyards?
When you look at a vineyard map of Serralunga, it looks like a crazy jumble. There are a lot of small sites that seem to point in every direction. But if you travel through the vineyards, it all makes a lot more sense. I recommend you hop on a bicycle, but a car will do. For now, I suppose, we’ll just imagine that we’re taking the trip.
Shop Serralunga Barolo in NYC.
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Flatiron's Guide to BaroloJeff Patten is one of the founders of Flatiron Wines. He has been buying and selling wine, and exploring wine country, for over 20 years, and drinking and collecting it for far longer. He is WSET certified (level 2).
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