Before we had the Barolo revolution, the Barolo Boys (and girls), as well as the whole Barolo v Barbaresco debate - all that attention and esteem weighted on the northern Italian region today highly regarded for its intense yet pure wines - there was Pio.

Pio Cesare, businessman turn iconic Barolo winemaker.

Who Is Pio Cesare?

Pio Cesare was a successful businessman when inspiration struck for him to start producing a small quantity of wines from the very hills of Barolo and Barbaresco for himself and his close friends and family. This was back when the region had nothing more than four to five wine producers, yet Pio was deeply convinced of the quality of the land there, and was committed and passionate about producing wines there. With time passion became a business, and Pio began to seriously grow the winery, which began in earnest in 1881. He would be the first to locate his winery in the heart of Alba, which in turn has its place as the core of Piedmont, and today remains the only winery in town, with the original cellars still in use and completely preserved with its ancient Roman walls stemming from the foundations of the once city of Alba Pompeia.

A big part of Pio's desire was to capture wholly and representatively the region of Barolo and its neighbouring Barbaresco. And so Pio would not only use fruit from his vineyards, but would also acquire fruit from other growers in order to produce a cohesive blend that would deliver the Barolo and Barbaresco terroir. It was under Pio's pioneering dedication and investment in the Piedmont region that was critical to the development of the region in its formative years - Pio would also travel all about Europe to promote his wines, thereby also raising interest and understanding of Piedmont.

Pio Cesare's cellars have been housed in the same ancient Roman foundations for the past 140 years.

A Family Tradition In Barolo Winemaking

Over the next four generations, Pio Cesare's family has proved to be faithful custodians of the region's wines, continuing the effort to constantly improve quality whilst protecting tradition, as well as to keep up the ongoing efforts to promote the region's wines. Even as today over 600 wineries have emerged from the region, the Pio Cesare winery continues to keep to its original mission of showcasing Barolo and Barbaresco. This has also meant that the family-run winery continues to stubbornly buck the trend of single vineyard bottlings which have made some of its neighbours incredibly popular. “This is the recipe for our family since 1881 and we have continued to use our money and time to continue this tradition despite the fact that 95% other producers are making single vineyard,” said fifth-generation Cesare Benvenuto. Benvenuto would also emphasise "If you ask me what’s the most important wine at Pio Cesare, I would never tell you it’s the single vineyard, but Barolo and Barbaresco classico.”

Pio Cesare was making Barolo before it was the Barolo.

Whilst the five-generation winery has produced several single vineyard expressions, their classics will always remain regional cuvees, blending in the various characteristics of the 79 acres of Barolo vineyards and 66 acres of Barbaresco vineyards owned by the family, itself a bold move made by the third and fourth generation Cesare's. It was in the 1970's when Giuseppe Boffa (Pio Cesare's son-in-law) and his son, Pio Boffa, had saw the writing on the wall that the region was going to become far more competitive and land grabs were increasingly intense. They thus started purchasing vineyards from which they were already engaged in purchasing fruit from. This was a risky move financially and would also require great labour to taking care of these hundreds of acres of vineyards themselves, as opposed to outsourcing the work to numerous growers. Yet this was also crucial to ensuring continuity for Pio Cesare's work.

Together they represent Barolo.

Embracing Modernity Where It Makes Sense

Over the years, the family has also moved with the times, and have since moved away from using chemicals in the vineyards, sufficiently so to qualify for organic status, yet choosing to shy away from certifications which they see as being more typically used for marketing than being a matter of true winemaking philosophy. Even in the cellars, it's apparent that Pio Cesare's methods are very much a blend of modern and traditional winemaking, with an ethos that simply focuses on producing the best quality wines, and thus augmenting old practices wherever modern ones make sense. After the fruit has been harvested and sorted, they undergo a shorter maceration period, and then separate lot fermentation. Most of the wines go into larger format neutral oak vessels that minimise the wood's influence so as to preserve the purity of the fruit's expression, although some of the best wines are also put into smaller barrels where the family believes it can add a layer of complexity without dominating the fruit.

Ultimately, winemaking at Pio Cesare is most importantly minimal intervention.

Pio Cesare Today

Today Pio Cesare sits across over 170 acres of vineyards, each carefully and intentionally acquired to add varying characteristics to the family’s Barolo and Barbaresco cuvee. In Barolo, notable vineyards are located in Serralunga d’Alba, Monforte d’Alba, La Morra, Grinzane Cavour and Novello, whereas in Barbaresco, vineyards occupy Treiso and San Rocco Seno d’Elvio.

Pio Boffa (center), with daughter Federica Rosy Boffa (left) and nephew Cesare Benvenuto (right). 

Unfortunately, on the eve of the family's 140th anniversary in 2021, the highly respected fourth-generation Pio Boffa had passed, yet a tribute to his dedication to promoting classic Barolo and Barbaresco remains - the Barolo label carries the name Barolo Pio, the family's emphasis and recognition of the Pio Cesare family tradition of making Barolo from vineyards across the region. Today Pio Cesare is in the hands of fifth-generation Federica Rosy Boffa and her cousin Cesare Benvenuto. 

Fun Fact: Pio Boffa was such a fierce advocate for traditional Barolo as opposed to single vineyard expressions that for the 2012 to 2016 vintages, Pio Cesare's Barolo labels carried the declaration "Please don't call it regular".

Please, Don't Call It "Regular" 

Now with all that said today we have to try Pio Cesare's Barolo Pio DOCG, this is the 2019 vintage. As with all Barolo's, this is 100% Nebbiolo sourced from across all of Pio Cesare's vineyards across the region. It is vinified in stainless steel tanks, with maceration taking place over 25-30 days, after which it is aged in large French oak botti for about 30 months, with some of it aged in smaller barriques as well.

Let's go! 

Wine Review: 2019 Pio Cesare Barolo DOCG, Barolo Pio

Tasting Notes

Colour: Light Garnet

Aroma: Deep aromas, incredible richness and concentration of fresh soil and blackcurrants, with also wafts of barnyard and animal hide, as well as browned tobacco leaves. There's a minerality about it as well that gives it an uplift, of spring water and chalk, offering up some lightness to the otherwise concentrated earthiness and fruit. With time there's more florals of violets, and also a vein of savoury salinity of breakfast ham. It's deep, evocative, yet quite distinct and clean.

Taste: It goes much deeper and richer. Immediately there's drops of balsamic vinegar, with a pronounced savouriness of breakfast ham lightly salted. This is joined by concentrated notes of blackcurrants, in the form of fruit leather and fruit paste. It's reminiscent of blackcurrant jam on breakfast ham that's had for Christmas. The tannins are prominent and grainy, yet firm and structured, without taking away from the body. There's some earthiness of soil too, with a slight salinity and more minerality. It's big and bold, yet clean, primarily focused on dark fruit reduction garnished by some salinity and minerality, as well as some earthiness.

Finish: The earthy tones leads with more on fresh mushrooms, soil, animal hide, along with more of that savoury saltiness. Light wash of blackcurrants, along with the same supple minerality of spring water.

My Thoughts

This was impeccably cohesive, forming a single distinct flavour profile that strikes as one that's more earthy, mineral and with a concentration of the fruit. It's elegant yet subtly complex, with great presence and feels detailed and intentional, offering up a wine that feels complete and one that can stand on its own and shine. 

On the nose, I found this to be incredibly aromatic, it's deep and evocative, with a rustic purity about it, with those fresh earthy tones. On the palate there's a persistent meaty savouriness and spring water minerality that joins the fruit reduction to form something more complex, balanced, and yet well integrated and thoughtfully paired - it's rich, sweet, savoury, briny and yet clean. It's demonstrates great finesse and control, with the bigger and bolder flavours held together firmly by those grainy tannins giving it a very resolute structure. Clean outlines that hold in them a good bit of depth. The finish takes a more earthy tone with the fruits and minerality taking more of a backseat role here. It's long, supple and clean into the finish, with lingering aromas of blackcurrant jams.

A really solid wine here that's subtly elegant, yet behind its classiness is something of a powerhouse.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot