This historic family-owned estate is named after its founder Cesare Pio, who established the business in 1881. The winery is based in Alba, in the heart of Piemonte and is now run by Federica Boffa and Cesare Benvenuto, the fifth generation of the family. Pio Cesare developed Barolo’s reputation overseas in the 1950s by being one of the first producers to export the wine to the UK. The founder’s great grandson Pio Boffa was deeply convinced of the importance of cultivating and growing owned land to produce high quality wines and played a key role in the acquisition of vineyards in the same locations where Cesare Pio used to buy his grapes from. Today Pio Cesare own 80 hectares located in several premium hill-side positions, selected for the exposure, soil composition and microclimate in the Barolo and Barbaresco regions. The wines are made in a style that manages to balance the best of the old with the best of the new. The estate includes most of the municipalities in the Barolo and Barbaresco areas.
The Pio Cesare family owns a total 30 ha in the Barolo region covering 5 different communes: Serralunga d’Alba (Ornato, Serra, Briccolina, Lirano and Colombaro), Monforte d’Alba (Mosconi), Grinzane Cavour (Gustava and Garretti), La Morra (Roncaglie), Novello (Ravera). The 10 ha Mosconi vineyard was acquired in 2014 by 4th generation Pio Boffa, who had dreamed for a very long time to add this prestigious cru to the Pio Cesare holdings. Located in the village of Monforte d’Alba, one of the most premium hillside exposures of our region, Mosconi deliveres all the characteristics that the family wants to express in their Barolo: a great complexity, the combination of power and elegance, the refined tannins, the great purity of fruit and a balsamic finish lifted by fresh acidity along with the long ageing potential. All grapes for the production come from 4 ha selected plots and old vines dating back to 1947 and 1971.
Altitude: 390 mt Exposure: south Soils:mainly limestone with a big amount of clay and a small portion of sand. Yields below 50 tons per hecater. Vine age: 39 – 49 – 72 year old. Ha dedicated to Barolo Mosconi production: 4. In the other 6 ha the family grows Chardonnay, Barbera d’Alba and Nebbiolo for the production of Barolo Pio. Training system: guyot Size of production: around 6000 botlles depending on the vintage.
After pressing, the grape juice was fermented in stainless steel tanks at quite high temperatures and was left in contact with the skins for around 30 days. The majority of the wine was then aged in French oak traditional “botti” for around 30 months, while a small proportion is aged in barriques for the first 12 months.
2018 started with a long winter with plenty of rainfall, restoring the soil’s water supply which had diminished due to the weather conditions in the previous year. The winter season extended until the beginning of March, with temperatures which were lower than in recent years. This led to a gradual, slow resumption of the vine’s vegetative phase, which was completed by the end of the same month. Bud break was regular, with none of the problems caused by late frosts. Spring continued with frequent rainfall and not high temperatures, suggesting that the vintage would develop along “classic” lines. The period between the end of May and the beginning of June was marked by numerous storms, bringing copious rains that required attentive vineyard management. Flowering and subsequent berry set took place in optimal climatic conditions, immediately suggesting that it would be a plentiful vintage. Green harvesting became necessary for nearly all varietals. Development was gradual during the summer, with temperatures rising considerably from mid-July on, and a long period of constant ideal weather which helped the grapes to ripen without the harvest needing to be brought forward.
Compared to the Ornato, the 2018 Barolo Mosconi (with fruit from Monforte d’Alba) shows a tighter and more compact quality with a direct, linear and powerful approach. The bouquet builds in vertical intensity, starting with tart fruit aromas and culminating with tar, rusted nail and camphor ash. That aromatic ascent comes at you quickly, and the wine ultimately settles on a very wide, all-encompassing performance. (Monica Larner, Wine Advocate)
Serve with red meat dishes, game or seasonal truffle, mature cheeses.
Serve at 16-18°C.
95 points – James Suckling
Very compact both on the nose and palate, offering dried red berries and notes of truffle-tinged sous-bois and dried flowers. Full-bodied with a fine-tannin framework and a very long finish. Compact and solid. This needs plenty of time to open, but is showing real class. Try from 2025.
95 points – Wine Advocate, Monica Larner
Compared to the Ornato, the 2018 Barolo Mosconi (with fruit from Monforte d’Alba) shows a tighter and more compact quality with a direct, linear and powerful approach. The bouquet builds in vertical intensity, starting with tart fruit aromas and culminating with tar, rusted nail and camphor ash. That aromatic ascent comes at you quickly, and the wine ultimately settles on a very wide, all-encompassing performance.
95 points – Vinous, Antonio Galloni
The 2018 Barolo Mosconi is superb. It offers up a complex mélange of rose petal, dried herbs, iron, graphite, smoke, incense, scorched earth and blood orange, capturing all the complexity that makes the best Barolos from this site so compelling. Powerful and deep, yet also quite elegant, the 2018 is another fine Barolo from an estate that has undergone a pretty significant stylistic shift over the last handful of years.
95 points Falstaff
94 points – Wine Spectator, Bruce Sanderson
Rich, with plum and cherry flavors, this Barolo also shows a savory side of eucalyptus, licorice and clove. Reveals viscosity to the texture as well as terrific balance. Ends with dense, refined tannins and lingering steeped fruit and savory notes. Best from 2025 through 2042.
Barolo DOCG, Piemonte
100% Nebbiolo
Natural Cork
Yes
Yes
