1991 Barolo La Serra

One of my favorite Piedmontese producers has turned out three very good 1991 Barolos from his vineyards surrounding the village of La Morra. All these single vineyard Barolos share deep garnet colors that suggest full maturity, but the wines' flavors and structure indicate surprising longevity. The softest wine is the 1991 Barolo La Serra (although that may be splitting hairs), a wine with a textbook Nebbiolo nose of black-cherries, tobacco, spice, cedar, dried fruits, and roses. The other wines reveal similar bouquets, but they are neither as open nor as fragrant as la Serra's. All three are medium to full-bodied, admirably concentrated wines that are soft enough to be drunk now, but they exhibited few signs of fruit deterioration or oxidation after 24 hours of aeration. The 1991 Barolo Brunate is the most backward offering, but it is still accessible. The 1991 Barolo Cerequio's personality is closer to La Serra. These three 1991 Barolos displayed less significant differences than usual. They are successful wines for what is considered to be a mediocre vintage for Barolo. Roberto Voerzio's offerings are well above that image of quality. Look for these wines to offer near-term drinking, and age well for 10-15 years, with the potential to raise their scores by 1-3 points. Importer: Viva Vino, Eddystone, PA; tel. (610) 872-1500