Serralunga is extreme. No village in Barolo produces wines of greater structure and longevity. We understand that has to do with its soils, as no village in Barolo has a greater concentration of limestone.

When dealing with such a lion of a terroir, it must be tempting to find a whip that will tame the beast. For a wine-maker, that could be barriques, or short macerations, or roto-fermentors. Those are the short-cuts.

Augusto Cappellano, like his father Teobaldo before him, does not take those short cuts. Partly, that's because he is just fine with structure and longevity. That is the natural product of Serralunga's special terroir, after all. Partly, it's because Augusto's extremely high-quality farming (the family has only four hectares so they can apply their natural farming methods assiduously to each and every vine) ensures that the grapes' tannins ripen properly, avoiding any of the harsh, bitter qualities that for years many assumed were also "natural."

What importer Rosenthal Wine Merchant has to say about this wine...

This is the principal Barolo of the estate, at least in terms of quantity produced. The vineyard is the Gabutti cru and the exposure is south to southwest. After an extended fermentation and considerable aging in the classic “botte” of the region, the wine is bottled without filtration. The rhythm of the release is usually four to four and one-half years after the harvest. Stylistically, the wine is an honest and pure reflection of the terroir of this small but important cru: earthy, truffled aromas marry to a full-bodied, occasionally rustic character backed by rugged, classic tannins. The Barolos of Serralunga are known for their generosity and warmth and the “Rupestris” is as fine an example as one can find.

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