Sordo Barolo Perno
WHY WE LOVE IT
- Sordo is one of only six producers with the privilege of making wine from this to coveted Cru located in Monforte d’Alba, and their example is consistently the most talked about.
- Monforte d’Alba is an area known for the “powerful” expressions of Nebbiolo, but the Perno cru is all about sexy aromatics.
- Vines in Sordo’s Perno blocks are well established and deeply rooted – Are all at least 25 years old.
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Top soil is tufaceous with layers of red material and not easily worked. The subsoil is primarily made up of stone and detrital rock cemented more or less tenaciously by sandy and clayey components from the Langhian Stage of the Miocene Epoch.
Varietal Composition: 100% Nebbiolo
Elaboration: The fruit is crushed/destemmed, vinification with fermentation in stainless steel temperature controlled vats with long submerged-cap maceration for 4 to 7 weeks. Natural malolactic fermentation at temperature 68° F. Storage in stainless steel for 2-4 months. After ageing 24 months in large Slavonian oak barrels, the wine then spends 5 months in stainless steel and a minimum of 6 months in the bottle before release.
Tasting Notes: Bouquet always very rich, intense and lingering. Sensations of great vinosity trade-off with notes of ripe fruit, hardwood, spices and licorice. Great inner-mouth warmth; acidity and tannicity always stand out but tend towards sweet. Very long, lingering aromatic finish. It is a wine with great aging prospects.
PRESS
2013 – 91 James Suckling | 93 Wine Spectator | 93 Wine Enthusiast
2015 – 91 Wine Spectator | 93 James Suckling
2016 – 92 James Suckling
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
The Azienda Agricola Giovanni Sordo lies in the heart of the well-known Barolo region in the municipality of Castiglione Falletto. It’s a family-run winery now in the capable hands of Giorgio, Giovanni’s son, the third generation of a family who has been tending and producing wines for more than a century. The estate was founded in 1912 by Giorgio’s great-father Giuseppe, but the real turnover came with his son Giovanni purchased an enviable assortment of elite-level cru vineyard sites in Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d’Alba, Monforte d’Alba, Barolo, Novello, La Morra, Verduno, Grinzane Cavour and Vezza d’Alba. Sordo is the only existing Piedmontese winery that can boast offerings from eight different Crus, and to make things even more dynamic these Crus are spread out amongst five separate municipalities in the Barolo wine district and are all sustainably farmed. Current holdings come out to 53 hectares in total, making Sordo one of Piedmont’s most recognizable producers.
In terms of cellar practices Sordo is also quite unique – Equipment for fermentation, storage and bottling here is exclusively old school – A commitment to the use of large Slavonian casks (aka botti) means a historic, pure, and authentic taste of Piedmont’s terroir. In total their (huge) cellar boasts one-hundred-and-eleven botti, a jaw dropping number by all accounts! These are traditional wines that we are honored to represent.
VINEYARD FLYOVER
