Region: Barolo, Piedmont
Variety: Nebbiolo
Vintage: 2021
Country: Italy
The Wine
Founded in Alba in 1881, Pio Cesare is one of Piedmont’s great historic names, a house that has helped define the modern reputation of both Barolo and Barbaresco while remaining family-owned across five generations. The estate style has always leaned toward refinement over excess — traditional enough to preserve the authority of Nebbiolo, yet polished enough to bring precision and drinkability to wines built for the long haul.
Ornato was the first single-vineyard Barolo released by the family, first bottled in 1985, and it remains one of the estate’s benchmark crus. The vineyard sits in Serralunga d’Alba, one of Barolo’s most revered communes, where compact soils, elevation and exposure routinely produce wines of deeper structure, darker mineral character and exceptional longevity. Pio Cesare farms three plots within Ornato, at around 400 metres above sea level, on limestone and clay-rich soils that give the wine both density and tension.
Fermentation takes place in stainless steel with extended skin contact, followed by long ageing in large oak casks, with a smaller proportion in French oak. The result is a Barolo of authority rather than flash — layered, tightly wound and built around tannin architecture, savoury complexity and site expression. The 2021 season was a later, more classical growing year, with a cold winter, healthy water reserves and slow, even ripening, delivering wines with real concentration, freshness and poise.
Cellared Says
This is proper Serralunga Barolo — darker, sterner and more architectural than many commune blends, but in 2021 it carries that power with an unusual level of polish. You get the depth and iron-edged structure Ornato is known for, but also clarity, perfume and a real sense of completeness. That is what makes 2021 such a landmark Barolo vintage. The top wines combine the structure and cellar-worthiness of the great years with more openness, fruit purity and finesse than old-school Barolo drinkers would normally expect at this stage. For me, 2021 is one of those vintages collectors will look back on as a modern benchmark — serious, ageworthy and yet immediately compelling. Ornato is right in that sweet spot.
Wine Reviews
“A juicy and fruity wine,” with round, polished tannins and excellent length.
98 points, James Suckling
From the historic slopes of Serralunga d'Alba's Cascina Ornato, where Pio Cesare's single vineyard journey began in 1985, emerges a titan of Barolo. Like an ancient tale told in hushed tones, this powerhouse unfolds with brooding dark fruits while star anise and juniper berries weave their spicy narrative through waves of dried black currants. The wine commands attention with mountainous structure and an earthy finale that echoes through time. This is Serralunga's masculine soul captured in a bottle, promising decades of storytelling ahead. Drink from 2028.
97 points, Jeff Porter - Wine Advocate
Galloni highlights dark-toned fruit, gravel, incense, licorice and scorched earth, calling it a classic Serralunga expression with notable balance.
97 points, Vinous, Antonio Galloni
Region: Barolo, Piedmont
Variety: Nebbiolo
Vintage: 2021
Country: Italy
The Wine
Founded in Alba in 1881, Pio Cesare is one of Piedmont’s great historic names, a house that has helped define the modern reputation of both Barolo and Barbaresco while remaining family-owned across five generations. The estate style has always leaned toward refinement over excess — traditional enough to preserve the authority of Nebbiolo, yet polished enough to bring precision and drinkability to wines built for the long haul.
Ornato was the first single-vineyard Barolo released by the family, first bottled in 1985, and it remains one of the estate’s benchmark crus. The vineyard sits in Serralunga d’Alba, one of Barolo’s most revered communes, where compact soils, elevation and exposure routinely produce wines of deeper structure, darker mineral character and exceptional longevity. Pio Cesare farms three plots within Ornato, at around 400 metres above sea level, on limestone and clay-rich soils that give the wine both density and tension.
Fermentation takes place in stainless steel with extended skin contact, followed by long ageing in large oak casks, with a smaller proportion in French oak. The result is a Barolo of authority rather than flash — layered, tightly wound and built around tannin architecture, savoury complexity and site expression. The 2021 season was a later, more classical growing year, with a cold winter, healthy water reserves and slow, even ripening, delivering wines with real concentration, freshness and poise.
Cellared Says
This is proper Serralunga Barolo — darker, sterner and more architectural than many commune blends, but in 2021 it carries that power with an unusual level of polish. You get the depth and iron-edged structure Ornato is known for, but also clarity, perfume and a real sense of completeness. That is what makes 2021 such a landmark Barolo vintage. The top wines combine the structure and cellar-worthiness of the great years with more openness, fruit purity and finesse than old-school Barolo drinkers would normally expect at this stage. For me, 2021 is one of those vintages collectors will look back on as a modern benchmark — serious, ageworthy and yet immediately compelling. Ornato is right in that sweet spot.
Wine Reviews
“A juicy and fruity wine,” with round, polished tannins and excellent length.
98 points, James Suckling
From the historic slopes of Serralunga d'Alba's Cascina Ornato, where Pio Cesare's single vineyard journey began in 1985, emerges a titan of Barolo. Like an ancient tale told in hushed tones, this powerhouse unfolds with brooding dark fruits while star anise and juniper berries weave their spicy narrative through waves of dried black currants. The wine commands attention with mountainous structure and an earthy finale that echoes through time. This is Serralunga's masculine soul captured in a bottle, promising decades of storytelling ahead. Drink from 2028.
97 points, Jeff Porter - Wine Advocate
Galloni highlights dark-toned fruit, gravel, incense, licorice and scorched earth, calling it a classic Serralunga expression with notable balance.
97 points, Vinous, Antonio Galloni
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