Jay Kline

9.4

Not to be confused with the La Serra MGA from La Morra. This "La Serra" is actually from the Serra MGA from Serralunga d'Alba. Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 2026 “La Serra” pours a garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with gorgeous notes of Morello cherry, tar, red roses, talcum powder, sweet pipe tobacco, curaçao, gravely earth, new leather, and a mix of exotic spices. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and savory. This is a tremendous wine that builds with character over the course of time in the glass. Way more exciting than this was back in 2017 (when I last enjoyed this vintage of La Serra). Drink now with patience through 2046. — a month ago

Eric Kememes

9.3

Slays! Tree fruit Floral macération cloudy no tannic bite apple skin finish — 2 years ago

Daniel Bloom

9.4

N: Black tea, tar, black cherries, the forest, earth, blood, tobacco, a sense of velvet.
P: Black depth, sanguine, slightly chewy,
But very smooth, rich w/o a trace of heaviness. Red/Black fruits, exotic flowers.
I decanted 1 hr, chilled 30 min.
Thanks @FassSelections — 3 years ago

Ely Cohn

9.2

Rich with equal parts honey and lemon. I love the style of Northern Italy and this could be anything from Piedmont to Alto Adige. Golden glow, sweet perfumes, viscous foundation. Aromas of honey lemon almond marzipan, a bed of flowers, smoke and hint of mint. Very worth my while. — 3 years ago

Amy

9.0

i had the white- turban’s pacino san giovanni from lombardy, at tallulah, $15/glass- v light, minerality, nice — 3 months ago

Jay Kline

9.2

As someone who has been described as an Italophile, I’m particularly enamored with the wines of Piemonte. You’ve probably all heard the saying, “the more you learn, the less you seem to know”. Yeah, I don’t know that it really makes sense. Yet, it seems to apply more and more these days. This wonderful bottle from Giovanni Rosso was an entire lesson of its own for me.

Okay, so I’ve been enjoying the Barolo’s from Giovanni Rosso for almost a decade now and it was not until this bottle that I realized this is not their “classico” but instead, a blend of their holdings exclusively throughout Serralunga d’Alba. A sort of “super classico” (I just made that up) I guess one could say. Since the mid-1990’s, they have been best known for their Serralunga parcels in Cerretta (Bricco). Later, in 2004, they were the first to release a single-vineyard bottling of the Serra MGA (not to be confused with the La Serra MGA in La Morra 🙄). More recently, they have picked up parcels in other Serralunga MGA’s including Costabella, Sorano, Lirano, Damiano, as well as the up and coming Meriame and their most famous of all, Vignarionda (the only other MGA from which they do a single-vineyard besides the aforementioned Serra and Cerretta). I know…it’s a lot to absorb. Let’s just get to the notes.

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2019 “Del Comune Di Serralunga d’Alba” pours a pale garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with powerful, heady notes of red (mostly) and black fruit: fresh raspberries, pomegranate, blood orange, roses, talcum powder, freshly tarred roof and dry earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. This is a powerful expression of the 2019 vintage that needs some time to settle down. The fruit profile is quite big but the classic Serralunga structure is there in the background. You can drink now if you’re a hedonist (guilty) but I suspect a bigger reward to come from 2029-2040+. — 10 months ago

Jerry Raphael

8.9

Always enjoyable with pear and apple notes. Opening wine for SJOS Tasting I hosted — 7 months ago

Ceccherini Cristiano

9.2

This is a version of Primitivo quite different to what we are used in Italy.
I am sure it has its lovers
6 months in French oak and 6 in American oak too
The wine has a deep colour
Multitude of spices over a big fruit.
It is a step away from a Barossa wine and two away from a classic Primitvo.
But it is definitely long and mouth fulling.
Top seller here downunder — 9 months ago

Ellen Clifford

9.3

Served to me by Giovanni Manetti but you didn’t hear that from me—he’s president of the Chianti Classico Consortium but DAMN this is good wine and he’s tilting at changes in the region to ever improve all the wines. I couldn’t NOT mention this tho, thrilling just to smell, savory and richly fruited, and complex beyond…cherry cordial, mint, chocolate, blackberries, cheerful and serious all at once. Splendid and beyond. — 3 years ago

David S. Lopez

9.1

This was an excellent wine. It’s probably only my second outing with Primitivo di Manduria. It pours a beautiful thick purple in the glass. It has a decent nose. But the flavors are quite wonderful and powerful. There’s raisins berries plums and maybe a hint of vanilla or tobacco. There’s some acidity. And a decent finish. I will absolutely be buying this again, as well as other Primitivo PDM wines. It went perfectly with the elk steaks we paired it with. — 3 years ago