Highlights: three wines from Serio & Ballista Borgogno in Piemonte
Impressive Barolo, Langhe Nebbiolo and Dolcetto from this small family estate in Cannubi
These wines are stocked in the UK by Tanners.
Fratelli Serio & Ballista Borgogno Dolcetto d’Alba 2018 Piemonte, Italy
12% alcohol
£14.95 Tanners
A one-hectare plot of Liste Cru in Barolo. Fermented in cask and then goes to stainless steel. This is bright, pure and floral with very fresh, expressive red cherry fruit. Really supple and floral with nice drinkability, showing an attractive green hint to the vivid fruit. Juicy and crunchy on the finish. 90/100
Fratelli Serio & Ballista Borgogno Langhe Nebbiolo 2018 Piemonte, Italy
14.5% alcohol
£16.95 Tanners
This is from younger vines in Barolo, and it’s aged in large Slavonian oak casks. This shows great precision and purity, with raspberry and cranberry fruit, some tannic crunch and bright acidity. This has a lovely purity to it, showing a lot of fruit but also great structure and focus. Benchmark Nebbiolo, with good concentration for a Langhe, and elegance and prettiness coupled with acid and tannin presence. Carries its alcohol very well. 93/100
Fratelli Serio & Ballista Borgogno Barolo Cannubi 2015 Piemonte, Italy
14.5% alcohol
£38 Tanners
This is beautiful. It’s concentrated at the same time as being bright and fresh, with a crunchy raspberry edge to the floral cherry fruit. There’s an almost perfect balance between the just-ripe, pure red fruit character and the spice and herb savouriness, with firm, fine-grained tannins and bright acidity providing the structural foil. This is a pleasure to drink now, but you feel its best years are ahead of it. And many of them. The alcohol is high, but there’s no sense of over-ripeness, and a little sweetness from the alcohol helps melt the tannins a little. 95/100
