The Buyer | How Stefano Chiarlo traced a Barolo legacy with a vertical of Cerequio

Two and a half years since his death, the legacy of Michele Chiarlo endures through spectacular wines that span the breadth of Piedmont, from Barbera and Barolo to Gavi and Moscato d’Asti. Not only was Chiarlo a visionary who co-founded the Nizza DOCG and championed Barbera’s potential long before it gained wider acclaim, but he was also intent on changing the perception of wine – from quantity to quality, always seeking the purest expressionsof wine from the smallest parcels. Nowhere is that more evident than in Cerequio which is rightly regarded as one of Barolo’s true crus, a vineyard of exceptional pedigree and grace. Only a handful of producers hold parcels here, and even fewer treat it with the reverence it deserves. Joanna Dabrowska was taken through a rare eight-vintage vertical of Cerequio by Michele’s son Stefano.