Cesare Bussolo
Piedmont, Italy
By focusing on pure terroir expression and avoiding heavy new oak, Cesare shifts his ultra low yield wines from raw Piedmontese power to Burgundian elegance.
The small village of La Morra sits atop one of the highest hills in the Barolo wine zone. On clear days, you can see the Alps from the vineyards and it is here that Cesare Bussolo is building his new cellar and winery.
Cesare is best known as the right hand man and legendary cellar master to Roberto Voerzio, one of the absolute icons of the Barolo revolution. For nearly fifteen years, Cesare has also been crafting wines under his own name on a microscopic scale, often producing just a few thousand bottles per cuvée. Across his entire lineup, he practices strict chemical free farming and applies Voerzio's radical, low yield vineyard philosophy, creating ultra concentrated, highly sought after wines that brilliantly balance Piedmontese power with an ethereal, terroir driven elegance.
A perfect example of this dedication is the west facing ‘Santa Lucia’ vineyard. In 2009, the opportunity of a lifetime arose when the very same Santa Lucia plot Cesare played in as a child went up for sale. At the time, it was an ancient, roughly 90 year old vineyard. Recognizing the immense potential of its chalky soils, which he considers some of the absolute best terroir in the world for the Barbera grape, he bought it, marking the official founding of his estate.
Just like he would later do with his ‘San Bartolomeo’ Dolcetto vineyard, Cesare took a massive gamble. The 90 year old vines were historic, but they weren't producing the focused, world class precision he envisioned. He completely ripped them out and replanted the entire site using an extreme, ultra high density system of roughly 8,000 plants per hectare, forcing the roots deep into the soil for mineral complexity. Combined with aggressive green harvesting in the summer, he shrank the yield down to a microscopic 1 kg of fruit per plant.
The first wine ever released under the Cesare Bussolo label was the 2012 vintage of this exact Barbera. Today, his lineup has expanded to include not only Barbera and Dolcetto, but Barolo too, from prized vineyards he shares with his mentor Voerzio.
In the cellar, Cesare’s approach mirrors a Burgundian philosophy. By steering away from heavy extraction and new oak in favor of neutral casks, he ensures the wood never masks the fruit. His Barolos, ranging from his elegant Comune di La Morra blend to his ultra low yield Fossati and La Serra single vineyard crus, are profoundly concentrated masterpieces that perfectly combine raw Nebbiolo power with Burgundian finesse.
Wines
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Dolcetto d'Alba ‘San Bartolomeo’
Barbera d'Alba ‘Vigna Santa Lucia’
Barolo ‘del Comune di La Morra’
Barolo ‘Fossati’
Barolo ‘La Serra’
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