Giovanni Rosso Barolo Cerretta

Giovanni Rosso Barolo Cerretta is a red wine made by the Giovanni Rosso winery in Serralunga d'Alba, a municipality in the province of Cuneo in Piedmont (northern Italy), within the D.O.C.G. Barolo.

For the past hundred years, the Rosso family has owned several cru in this area, which is considered one of the best in Italy and unique in the world, with special soils and climates that are reflected in inimitable wines. In total, the Rosso’s are in charge of eight vineyards that were restructured in the early 1980’s: Serra, Broglio, Meriame, Sorano, Costa Bella, Lirano, Damiano and Cerretta. Giovanni Rosso Barolo Cerretta comes only from the latter.

La Cerreta is a very unique 3.5 hectare vineyard, which faces southeast and has been owned by the family since 1920. The vines here lie at an altitude of 360 metres in the shape of an amphitheatre. This layout, together with the microclimate and the mainly calcareous soils (very white), guarantee very special nuances in the Barbera and Nebbiolo (Piedmont’s oldest red variety) that grow here. Once the grapes have been harvested in mid-October, they are processed and sorted in the winery. After this, the grape pulp is transferred to concrete tanks, where it will ferment for about 25 days. In the middle of this period, a delestage is carried out. This operation, which encourages the extraction of colour and other compounds, involves removing all the wine from the tank while the yeasts are fermenting. After a few hours, the wine is racked back into the tank, achieving greater oxygenation and an increase in yeasts. Finally, Giovanni Rosso Barolo ages for 18 to 36 months (depending on the vintage) in 25 and 50 hL French oak barrels from the Fontainebleau forest.

The future of Giovanni Rosso is now in the hands of their son Davide, the latest generation of the family, who personally oversees the winemaking, guaranteeing and ensuring that a little piece of this magical area ends up in the drinker’s glass.