Michele Chiarlo’s Cerequio Riserva 2016 is a Barolo DOCG made from 100% Nebbiolo sourced from the Cerequio cru, a highly regarded hillside between La Morra and Barolo. Chiarlo has farmed in Cerequio since acquiring holdings there in 1988, and the estate positions this Riserva as a bottling made only in exceptional years and in very limited quantities. The vineyard’s calcareous clay marl soils and south/south‑west exposure at about 320 meters, along with older vines (averaging around 55 years), point to a naturally structured style.

The winemaking is traditional in its pacing: the estate reports a minimum of six years’ aging before release, split between three years in large oak casks and three years in bottle. Alcohol is listed at 14% ABV, with pH 3.57 and total acidity 5.72 g/L—figures consistent with the freshness and line that Nebbiolo lovers look for, especially in a strong year like 2016.

Decanter’s review is an excellent one and captures the wine’s current character: “clean, clear and sharp,” with “dried flowers, red berry baked tarts, rose petals,” and a palate that is “focussed and amazingly taught.” The magazine emphasizes structure over breadth, noting that it is “not so expansive” and that the “tension is so apparent still,” while also calling it “really graceful” and “sophisticated and oh so charming.” Decanter also highlights a distinctly cool finish—“almost bitter, minty, freshness… licks of stone, graphite, pencil led”—and frames the overall build as “amazingly well controlled, full of vivacity and scintillating tension.”

In short, this is a Cerequio Riserva that prioritizes definition, firmness, and lingering detail over immediate plushness, and it reads as a wine built for long aging—very much in keeping with what the 2016 Barolo vintage has promised at its best.