Tenuta Cucco Barolo Serralunga d’Alba 2021 750ml

The Cucco estate’s village-level Barolo comes primarily from 25-year-old Nebbiolo planted in the Bricco Voghera cru in the eastern stretches of Serralunga, augmented with 20- to 25-year-old vines from the lower slopes of the Cerrati cru, which abuts the eastern edge of the appellation; the vines are planted at altitudes between 250 and 400 meters altitude, with expositions ranging from west and southwest (in Voghera) to southeast (in Cerrati), in limestone-rich soils flecked with veins of sand. Fermented spontaneously via submerged cap for 25 days, it passes two years in large Slavonian-oak botti from Stockinger and is assembled in steel for an additional year to allow for natural settling and a bottling without filtration. Offering an expressive and cleanly articulated nose of lifted red fruits, licorice, and dark flowers, it possesses classically intense Serralunga structure on the palate, but feels balanced and generous rather than imposing or harsh—a superb and highly enjoyable example of one of the greatest Barolo vintages in recent history.