Estate History: One of the most revered producers in Barolo today, based in La Morra, is Roberto Voerzio. His path to success has been based on what are considered to be the lowest yields of fruit in the Barolo zone. Production is very limited and the winery makes less than 4000 cases per vintage, which equals less than one bottle per vine. He’s a modernist to the extent that he fashions his wine away from the traditional tannic Barolo style, not overly extracted and oaky. This is an Italian cult winery at its finest. Roberto and Gianni Voerzio inherited their holdings from their father Gianni, who bottled wines under his own name until the early 1980s. Today, they make wines separately a few hundred yards apart, with Roberto and his wife operating six plots of Barolo vines in La Morra. Roberto’s cultivation methods are simple: fertilization is carried out by hand to address the individual health of each plant, establishing a perfect equilibrium in the vineyard and allowing for uniform maturation of all vines. High-density planting, a trademark of Voerzio’s vineyard management, translates into extremely low yields. His Barbera vineyards are planted with up to 3240 vines per acre. This extremely attentive approach to viticulture has earned Roberto Voerzio numerous accolades, and his wines are considered authentic, near ‘cult’-like masterpieces, sought after by collectors and wine lovers worldwide.
