Introducing Alberto Voerzio to Alberta

Since childhood his family always remarked on Alberto's immense passion for this land and its wines, and this in a family famously passionate about Nebbiolo. After Alberto graduated with a degree in Enology, he gathered experience in Burgundy and Bordeaux before returning to La Morra to work with his famed cousin Roberto until, in 2006, neighbouring plots came available and Alberto was able to strike out on his own. The Voerzio name is synonymous with the Barolo Boys.

Who is Alberto Voerzio?

Alberto is a vigneron. He manages every aspect of his wine, from the vineyard sites to the bottling line. His sites are entirely in La Morra, on slopes with southwest, south, and southeast exposure. These sites include 1.3 ha in the famed cru of La Serra* and 0.7 hectares in the cru of Castagni. These are small sites indeed. But this is how Alberto can personally farm each of his vineyards year-round, managing every stage: from vine to wine.

*Among the crus of La Morra, La Serra has a leading role. This is thanks to the brilliant south-eastern exposure of its slope. Perched at the top of the slope above the crus Casa Nero, Cerequio and Brunate and Boiolo. Thanks to their more compact and water retentive Totonian soils, the wines of La Morra are known for being the most aromatically perfumed, graceful, supple, floralmu, and seductive, and the easiest to drink upon release as opposed to the more brooding, muscular, and earthy wines of Serralunga d'Alba and Monforte d'Alba (for this style, be sure to check out the Barolo's of our friend Enrico Rivetto). But make no mistake, La Morra's wines also develop beautifully in the cellar, the best vintages offering 15-25 years of improvement.

Voerzio's Viticultural and Vinicultural Practices:

Alberto practices biodynamics (uncertified) and a gentle, hands on farming. And not unlike Roberto’s famous green harvest, Alberto also passes through his vineyards not once but twice before veraison, discarding grape clusters to force the vine to concentrate more of its evolutionary energy into a smaller and smaller set of grape bunches. In doing so, he limits his yields to a spartan 1 kg or less per plant (and only 500-700g per plant for his Castagni and La Serra cuvées!). 

When this quality of fruit meets Alberto’s incessant devotion in the cellar, the outcome is pure magic. His spontaneous fermentations with native yeast give dynamism but not at the loss of the control and hygiene offered by temperature controlled stainless steel. The wine is then racked to barriques (25% new for his Barolo’s) and here his tasteful selection of excellent French cooperage sings along with the wine. In summary: great terroir and not a corner cut, this is the simple yet painstaking recipe for a fine wine that endures. 

In-Depth Guides:

Explore the enchanting Barolo wine region and develop deep insights and knowledge via the in-depth profiles on www.vinerra.com:

• Barolo Wine Region 
• Barolo Wine Profile
• Nebbiolo Grape Profile
  

THE WINES of ALBERTO VOERZIO



Alberta CSPC/SKU #889832

2020 Barbera d’Alba DOC 

Tasting in cellar, Alberto's Barbera is so bright and crunchy, elevated entirely in neutral oak it is the classic and infinitely food friendly style, undeterred by the modernista stylings that have made extracted and oak-driven Barbera the norm. The palate remains juicy and electric with red fruit for days: sour cherry, cranberry, and red currant. A touch of blackberry is beginning to develop as well. The acid zippers down the palate with a rambunctious tang. Only five bunches per vine and just 0.5-1kg fruit per vine (i.e. about one bottle for every two vines!), this is what careful farming of quality fruit can give you: A traditionally rendered must-have Barbera for all you thoroughgoing Piemonte purists out there.

(This wine is unfined & unfiltered and may therefore throw a natural deposit with age.)



Alberta CSPC/SKU #889833

2020 Langhe Nebbiolo DOC 

Region:  La Morra, Barolo, Piedmont

Appellation:  Langhe Nebbiolo DOC

Soils: Totonian soils of blue-grey marl, mixed clay, and very fine sands

Blend:  100% Nebbiolo

Fermentation:  Fruit is carefully hand sorted. Fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeast in temperature controlled stainless steel.

Ageing:  Aged 12 months in used French oak barriques followed by eight months in stainless steel. SO2 is added as needed but never exceeds even half of the appellations allowable amount. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered. It therefore may throw a natural deposit as it ages.

Vineyard & Vine Age:  Biodynamic practicing (uncertified) estate vineyards in La Morra village of Barolo, SE facing, on Tortonian soils. Farmed entirely by hand by Alberto. Trellised, manual pruning, guyot system leaving 2 buds on the spur and 5-6 buds on the fruiting head. 2x green harvest for concentration before veraison. Yield of only 800g-1kg per plant. Fertilization with strictly natural manure is carried out only after the harvest, before the vines enter vegetative rest. No herbicides are used; the weeds are cut. Harvest is by hand and begins in the last ten days of September. 6500 vines/ha.

ABV:  14 %

Produced Cases:

Alberta CSPC/SKU #889836

2019 Barolo DOCG Cru Castagni 

Region:  La Morra, Barolo, Piedmont

Appellation:  Barolo DOCG

Altitude:  370-400m

Soils:  Totonian soils of blue-grey marl, mixed clay, and very fine sands

Blend:  100% Nebbiolo

Fermentation:  Fruit is carefully hand sorted. Fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeast in temperature controlled stainless steel.

Ageing:  Aged 24 months in French oak barriques (25% new, 75% used) followed by eight months in stainless steel. SO2 is added as needed but never exceeds even half of the appellations allowable amount. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered. It therefore may throw a natural deposit as it ages.

Vineyard & Vine Age:  Biodynamic practicing (uncertified) estate vineyards in La Morra village of Barolo, S-SE facing, on Tortonian soils. Farmed entirely by hand by Alberto. Trellised, manual pruning, guyot system leaving 2 buds on the spur and 5-6 buds on the fruiting head. 2x green harvest for concentration before veraison. Yield of only 500g-700g per plant. Fertilization with strictly natural manure is carried out only after the harvest, before the vines enter vegetative rest. No herbicides are used; the weeds are cut. Harvest is by hand and begins in the last ten days of September. 6500 vines/ha.

ABV:  14%

Production: 250 bottles

Alberta CSPC/SKU #889834

2019 Barolo DOCG Cru La Serra

Region:  La Morra, Barolo, Piedmont

Appellation:  Barolo DOCG

Altitude:  370-450m

Soils:  Totonian soils of blue-grey marl, mixed clay, and very fine sands

Blend:  100% Nebbiolo

Fermentation:  Fruit is carefully hand sorted. Fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeast in temperature controlled stainless steel.

Ageing:  Aged 24 months in French oak barriques (25% new, 75% used) followed by eight months in stainless steel. SO2 is added as needed but never exceeds even half of the appellations allowable amount. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered. It therefore may throw a natural deposit as it ages.

Vineyard & Vine Age:  Biodynamic practicing (uncertified) estate vineyards in the cru La Serra at the top of La Morra, S-SE facing, on Tortonian soils. Farmed entirely by hand by Alberto. Trellised, manual pruning, guyot system leaving 2 buds on the spur and 5-6 buds on the fruiting head. 2x green harvest for concentration before veraison. Yield of only 500g-700g per plant. Fertilization with strictly natural manure is carried out only after the harvest, before the vines enter vegetative rest. No herbicides are used; the weeds are cut. Harvest is by hand and begins in the last ten days of September. 6500 vines/ha.

ABV:  14%

Production:

Alberta CSPC/SKU #889835

2016 Barolo DOCG Cru La Serra MAGNUM

Region:  La Morra, Barolo, Piedmont

Appellation:  Barolo DOCG

Altitude:  370-400m

Soils:  Totonian soils of blue-grey marl, mixed clay, and very fine sands

Blend:  100% Nebbiolo

Fermentation: 

Fruit is carefully hand sorted. Fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeast in temperature controlled stainless steel.

Ageing:  Aged 24 months in French oak barriques (25% new, 75% used) followed by eight months in stainless steel. SO2 is added as needed but never exceeds even half of the appellations allowable amount. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered. It therefore may throw a natural deposit as it ages.

Vineyard & Vine Age:  Biodynamic practicing (uncertified) estate vineyards in the cru La Serra at the top of La Morra, S-SE facing, on Tortonian soils. Farmed entirely by hand by Alberto. Trellised, manual pruning, guyot system leaving 2 buds on the spur and 5-6 buds on the fruiting head. 2x green harvest for concentration before veraison. Yield of only 500g-700g per plant. Fertilization with strictly natural manure is carried out only after the harvest, before the vines enter vegetative rest. No herbicides are used; the weeds are cut. Harvest is by hand and begins in the last ten days of September. 6500 vines/ha.

ABV:  14%

Production: