Cesare Bussolo Barbera d’Alba 2016
Cesare Bussolo, a La Morra native; like our beloved Roberto, a man born and bred on the soft blue marls of Barolo. As a child, Cesare played with his sister among the vines in the vineyard he now owns; a beautiful west-facing site called Santa Lucia. After wine school in Alba, Cesare worked for local traditionalists Bovio for seven years, learning his craft before joining Roberto Voerzio in 2007. Timing is everything and while it’s fair to say Roberto has always had his eyes on the horizon, from 2007/2008 there was a clear shift in the Voerzio style, to one based on a more traditional elevage in large, neutral Slavonian oak casks, rather than the 100% new barriques which Roberto had utilised in the previous decade.
Shortly after joining Roberto, Cesare bought the Santa Lucia vineyard and in 2010 replanted the entire site with high-density Barbera vines.
Farming
Cesare farms his vineyard without chemicals and (like Voerzio) severely restricts the yield; fermentation is in steel, and then he raises his Barbera in used barrels for around 12 months before bottling. You can see from the label (a wonderful picture of a moustachioed, mustard-trousered gentleman busy with a corkscrew) how much care and attention Cesare has lavished on his Barbera and it’s a thrill for us that (on Roberto’s suggestion) Cesare will be exclusively represented in the UK by us. Cesare also has some ‘grand cru’ Barolo Fossati too…tiny production from a tiny slice of this revered vineyard.
