Wine Advocate
byMonica Larnerthe6/28/2019
The 2016 Barbaresco Bernadot takes the intensity level up a notch when compared to the base Barbaresco that I tasted immediately before this wine. The Bernadot is silky and fine with a pretty embroidery of floral aromas, cola, grilled herb and balsam herb. It will enjoy a long cellar life, at least a decade, but this wine is also perfect for near and medium-term drinking. Some 10,600 bottles were made.
I write this introduction now that a few weeks have passed since I tasted and reviewed these samples from Ceretto. With the benefit of that distance in time, I can say that no set of wines in this entire article on Barolo and Barbaresco has made a stronger impact on me than these. I am awestruck by the extreme quality, grace and elegance presented here. I have no doubt that this is the strongest set of new Ceretto wines I have ever had the privilege to taste. I notice that all the wines are united by an extreme level of silkiness and spot-on tannic management. It is truly something exceptional. Among these new vintages, we also have a new member of the family. Ceretto debuts its 2015 Barolo Bussia from Monforte d'Alba, now adding a wine from a fifth important township in the Barolo appellation. They already produce Barolos from Bricco Rocche in Castiglione Falletto, Cannubi San Lorenzo in Barolo, Brunate in La Morra and Prapò in Serralunga d'Alba. It's hard to choose a favorite, and all these wines—even the Prapò from heavier soils—deliver that extreme silkiness that caught my eye and won my heart.