2017 Barolo Serralunga Ettore Germano Review And Tasting Notes
The 2017 Barolo Serralunga made by Ettore Germano is the classic red wine that you will have to forget in the cellar for at least 15 years. An old-fashioned Barolo, with intense and ethereal fruit, superb concentration, bold tannins, and a mocking hardness that certainly does not want to please fashion or muscular and jammy wines.
It has no softness now, and it doesn’t wink, so forget about drinking it now unless you want to send it to battle with grilled meat or very fatty dishes. With these powerful but not green tannins, it will be able to refine in your cellar without problems. And if you have patience, it will be able to reward you with a glorious evolution.
How is it done?
The beauty of this traditional Barolo is that it is sold at an excellent price: 33 euros. Indeed, he does not spend 36 months like many of his competitors (see Massolino and Schiavenza) in large barrels but only 24: but the problem does not arise. It is not so much a question of the quality of the raw material but refinement. Of course, the vines are among the youngest in the cellar and are only 25 years old, but the fabric of this wine is undeniable.
Manual harvest at the end of October, maceration, and fermentation in steel, and 2 years of aging in large barrels and 18 months in the bottle.
Organoleptic characteristics
The color is splendid, transparent, and clear.
The bouquet is austere, dark, and classic. All played on the ethereal and sumptuous perfumes of Nebbiolo. Endless violets spread on blood oranges, truffles, fleshy fruit, and then a constellation of earthy scents that cannot resist. They are all there, do not fear olfaction fetishist friends.
Tertiary aromas are blooming now.
On the palate, it is carved into the rock. The tannins strongly define the aromatic volume and dictate its rhythm. The structure is broad, with rhubarb and cinchona flavors that slowly unwind on the tongue—acidity is ok.
Slightly spicy, clean, and crystalline finish with a delicate watermelon flavor.
It is not an easy wine to drink now: it is a wild ride in the flavors of the Langhe. But this is how a 5-year-old Barolo from the grand crus of Serralunga must be: rigorous and hard, but arrogant, proud of its contemptuous nobility. Spartan, but carved with a chisel.
To drink between 6-7 years at least. Aging potential of 20 quiet, quiet years.
Price
Thirty-three euros: one of the best Barolos for value for money.
Food Pairings
Black truffle risotto, passatelli with Parmigiano fondue and truffle, bucatini all’amatriciana, roast beef, hamburger.