Cesare Bussolo· La Morra
About the domain.
Four and a half hectares in La Morra, worked by the same family since 1920, this is the kind of small, quiet Barolo address I look for and rarely find. Cesare Bussolo is the fourth generation, and the estate has never grown beyond what one family can farm by hand.
The heart of it is two crus: Fossati, planted in 1955, and Rocchettevino, from 1962, old Nebbiolo on the Tortonian marl that gives La Morra its perfume rather than its muscle. The wines see no new oak and rest in large botti; nothing is fined or filtered out of them. The Fossati is the serious bottle, structured and built to wait. The Rocchettevino is the more fragrant, earlier-drinking sibling.
Around the Nebbiolo sit the everyday wines of the Langhe, Barbera, Dolcetto, Freisa, made with the same restraint. Quantities here are tiny, and I take what I can get.
Warm, precise.
The Fossati is concentrated but not overripe. Picked 12 October. The Rocchettevino shows more perfume and lighter tannin.
Classical La Morra.
Late harvest, 18 October. The Fossati from this vintage is serious. Aged 30 months in large botti.
Forward, ripe.
Warm vintage, early harvest. The Barbera is the standout, concentrated without heaviness. The Fossati will drink earlier than most Barolo.