The Pio Cesare family’s unique winemaking method stresses minimal intervention to produce wines of particularly supple flavor expression. A ceaseless devotion to the individuality of each of the region’s wines informs Pio Cesare's choices in the cellar: shorter maceration, separate lot fermentation, judicious selection for barrel and large cask aging, and bottling schedules determined by the ideal structure of each wine. This allows Pio Cesare to craft wines of varying weight, ageability and drinkability as determined by the vineyard rather than market fashion.

First launched with the 1985 vintage, Barolo Ornato was Pio Cesare's original single-vineyard bottling. Great structure, power, concentration, with a very long life. Produced in small quantities.

This is a single-vineyard Barolo from very ripe grapes of three different plots of the famous Pio Cesare family’s Ornato estate in Serralunga d’Alba, one of the top vineyards in the Barolo region. It is fermented in stainless steel with skin contact for 30 days and aged in in oak botti for about 30 months, and a small amount in French oak for the first 12 months.

This wine has great structure and concentration, with ripe fruit, soft tannins and tobacco. May be enjoyed upon release, but will reward time in the cellar. 

The particular conditions of the 2019 vintage, with its warm climate and the absence of extremes (frost, heat spikes), an abundant water supply and a late harvest, allowed the Nebbiolo grape to complete its ripening without any stress, enhancing the typical character of each locations, revealing the fascinating diversity of the region characterized by different altitude, positions, exposures, soil and microclimate.

The family started picking Nebbiolo for Barolo on October 13th in the village of Serralunga d’Alba at the Briccolina and Ornato vineyards, usually the earliest sites due to their exposure and soil compoistion. Harvest continued in the other vineyards of Serralunga (Lirano and Serra), in Monforte d’Alba (Mosconi) and in La Morra (Roncaglie), concluding on October 20th in Novello at the Ravera vineyard.