Barolo of Serralunga: the vintage no longer just “judged”, but told with a “Manifesto”

No longer dry grades, stars or ratings that are too synthetic to narrate something as complex and varied as a harvest of a territory, whose real quality of the wines, moreover, can be seen over the years, but a “Manifesto” that is almost a narrative, a synthesis of the tasting judgments of a panel, composed of Masters of Wine and international and Italian wine journalists (including WineNews), in the terroir of Barolo. It is the idea “sparked” by Oscar Farinetti and made his own by his son Andrea Farinetti, at the helm of Fontanafredda, a historic estate in Barolo (which also belonged to the King of Italy, and famous for Bela Rosin, one of the most important estates in Barolo, with 40 hectares in a single body) and in the Serralunga d’Alba terroir. And that came to a concrete form in “Serralunga Day” no. 3, the meeting that brings together 27 of the most important producers (Alessandro Rivetto, Angelo Negro, Bersano, Franco Boasso, Cantina del Nebbiolo, Cascina Adelaide, Diego Rivetti, Domenico Clerico, Enrico Serafino, Ettore Germano, Famiglia Anselma, Fontanafredda, Garesio, Giovanni Rosso, Luigi Baudana, Luigi Vico, Mauro Veglio, Palladino, Pico Maccario, Podere Gagliassi, Principiano Ferdinando, Schiavenza, Tenuta Cucco, Tenuta Rocca, Viberti Osvaldo, Villadoria, Vite Colte) of Barolo’s most claimed “communal mention”, born 33 years ago, in the heart of Langhe’s Unesco World Heritage Site, an event born out of the desire of all the producers of the appellation to give life to a moment of comparison and exchange on the different interpretations of the territory and vintages, materializing in a presentation of their most iconic Barolo wines to wine critics, journalists and restaurateurs.
It was a day of sharing, with a preview tasting and discussion of the 2021 vintage, with a new way of telling the story of the harvest, on which Master of Wine such as Gabriele Gorelli, Annette Scarfe, from Singapore, and Justin Knock, from Australia, confronted each other in a tasting at the end of which a “super jury” composed of Gabriele Gorelli and four category representatives (Italian press, including WineNews, foreign press, Masters of Wine and producers), each elected by members of the same group, assigned a score to the 2021 vintage and drew up a portrait of it, an in-depth commentary revealing its many nuances and distinguishing characteristics. “Barolo Serralunga d’Alba 2021, a portrait of the present looking to the future. The 2021 vintage celebrates a bold individuality that comes from the meeting of a sunny spirit and an important structure. On the one hand, the vibrant colors of impressionism, and, on the other, the geometry of cubism”, the incipit of the “Manifesto”. Which continues, “a vintage that should not simply be evaluated, but contemplated in perspective, like a work of art. Its mission is evolution. It combines the harmony of the great vintages of the past with the ability to express itself pleasantly in the present. Its peculiarities include energy, substance, elegance and strength. The 2021 vintage is a faithful interpreter of our time. It offers freshness, dynamic tannins and intense fruit. It lives the contemporary by fully accepting the challenge, peculiar to the appellation, of the passage of time. With density and rigor, the Barolo of Serralunga d’Alba takes conscious care of the potential and value of its terroir”.
But why this different project of narrating a vintage, which goes beyond stars, scores or various ratings, as seen so far in so many territories, is explained by their inspirers and creators, to WineNews. “I am absolutely not the ideologue”, says Oscar Farinetti, “who is, instead, my son Andrea. Let’s say I am the “suscitologist”, in the sense that probably, on a sentimental level, the things I advocate have infected my son and made him think of these things. Actually, the process of simplification is very important to people. In some cases and to some things you can even give a grade, but there are others for which you cannot. Let’s think about how many variables a vintage has. How many physical variables, which means soil and climate, and how many metaphysical variables, which means the attitude of the farmer, the winemaker, the desires, his hopes. Inside the cluster there is everything, there is a whole expected quality, which then has to become perceived quality. And making that is very difficult. And so we thought that since an untold fact does not exist, and an untold vintage is as if it does not exist, then it should be told. So let’s tell the story, let’s taste it, and the thing, in my opinion, brilliant thing that my son did, is to say that while we’re doing it, let’s invite critics, journalists, let’s take on the expenses, let’s invite our friends and roommates from this municipality that is strectorious that is Serralunga. A nice gesture, we invite small ones, medium ones, big ones. In wine production, it’s absolutely not true that small is good, big is bad, or vice versa. And so we have all our friends here, whom we love very much, because together we have had the crazy luck to live and work in an incredible territory. None of us decide where to live, where to be born, where to work: it’s pure luck, to be born here and not maybe in a desert where you can’t plant anything, and those who have had so much luck in life have to make it up to us. Telling this vintage and also trying a little bit to exorcise it, to make Barolo more peppery, more accessible to everyone. Because you have to stop this thing of waiting for the next partridge, the next anniversary, the next important thing to drink a glass of Barolo. We have to make people want to, also because drinking a glass of Barolo is wonderful, even with bread and salami. And this 2021 vintage, which I taste from week to week, seems to me better and better, and we are very happy. And this has to be told, even with a “Manifesto”, which, by the way, is not made of 10,000 words, it will be made of 600-700 words, a readable thing. Even in a hurry, by everyone”.
A new project, for the enhancement of a territory, which also calls for a true synergy between producers, “I think it is fundamental”, explains Andrea Farinetti, “because making a system gives you the idea, the dimension of what a great terroir can be. Alone we can do a lot, we can have single creativity, we can work on our little nuances, but we will never build a terroir alone. And so if you go and analyze what are the great terroirs in the wine world, in Italy, and outside of Italy, they are all the ones that have managed to build a great collectivity. And, therefore, making a system is crucial. And then it gives you the opportunity to grow much faster than on your own. This event, “Serralunga Day”, was created precisely to try to bring out this important collective spirit”.
Strong, in this path, also the presence of the institutions, in the personalities of Sergio Moscone, mayor of Serralunga d’Alba, and Sergio Germano, president of the Consorzio di Tutela del Barolo e del Barbaresco: “we are satisfied with the event, edition n. 3, proving the importance of the Serralunga territory and its producers. The Serralunga mention is also the most claimed of the municipal ones, which are beginning to be increasingly recognized and appreciated, first and foremost by the wineries and the market. The communal mention, in fact, manages to express well, thanks to the concerted work of the producers, the territory: its power, structure and longevity”, Germano says. An event that, moreover, also had a charitable implication, with the proceeds from the “10 hands” dinner with chefs from five Serralunga restaurants Vinoteca Centro Storico, Tota Virginia, Osteria Tre Case, La Rosa dei Vini and, of course, Guido Ristorante (the Michelin-starred restaurant in Fontanafredda, headed by Ugo Alciati), which will be donated to “La Collina degli Elfi” in Govone, a territorial association that proposes a project dedicated to families with children with cancer who have completed their therapies and begun their path to recovery”.