Barolo Riserva DOCG
Grape Nebbiolo

A wine of purity and sapidity, remarkably drinkable now – I recommend decanting it for a few hours though. A great depth of rose and wild forest fruit on the nose, porcini, mocha and cranberry. Full flavoured, in no way heavy, its ripe sweet tannins promise a long life, the wine has a hint of pepper through bramble and cranberry fruit. A beautiful wine with remarkable balance and freshness.

A Barolo made from an ancient Nebbiolo clone called ‘Michet’, the vines were planted in 1948 by Sara grandfather Ernesto Saffirio. The vineyard overlooks the winery on a south facing slope at an altitude of three hundred metres. The soils are known locally as ‘Elveziano’, maritime deposits with limestone, clay and sand, excellent drainage and rich in nutrients. There are two Barolos that Sara only makes in notable vintages, the Riserva and the ‘Persiera’. Both are expressive wines which honestly reflect the conditions of the vintage: the quantities made are miniscule.
Grapes are hand selected and sorted before a two day cryo-maceration, followed by a controlled fermentation at between thirty and thirty-two degrees in steel tanks, this process lasts around ten days. The wine goes through malolactic conversion in December and is then moved to barrique: a third new, a third one year old and a third two year old. The wine then remains in barrel for two years, after which the finished wine is assembled and aged in concrete tanks for a further six months before being bottled in the summer and cellared until ready for release.