Michele Chiarlo at 70: From Barbera to Cerequio

Thirty vintages of Barolo Cerequio since 1988. Count the harvests and you get thirty-five. That second number is not in the press release celebrating seventy years of Michele Chiarlo, and it is the one I would have led with.

The house arrived in the Cerequio vineyard in 1988 and makes the wine only in years it considers good enough. The 2022 is the thirtieth. The first was 1988, according to the house’s own technical sheet, so the wine was skipped five times. When I asked, the press office named them: 1992, 1994, 2002, 2008 and 2014.

The anniversary release is a company history written by the company. The line from Barbera to Barolo is worth your time. In a few places I wanted to know more.

What Michele Chiarlo did for Barbera

When Chiarlo started in 1956, Barbera d’Asti was a weekday wine, the house says. He believed the grape could do more and kept saying so for decades. In 1978 the house made its first selections of Barolo, Barbaresco and Barbera d’Asti.

In the 1980s it took up green harvesting, cutting away part of the crop before ripeness so the rest gains concentration. That was still uncommon then, the release says. Chiarlo was also among the first to take Barbera d’Asti to North America and Asia.

Michele Chiarlo in a white shirt and braces at the Art Park La Court

Press photo supplied by Michele Chiarlo, taken in 2019. Not taken by me.

In 1995 he bought Tenuta La Court in Castelnuovo Calcea, twenty hectares of Barbera. That area became Nizza DOCG in 2014, an appellation of its own for Barbera from the hills around Nizza Monferrato. The house calls itself one of the driving forces behind it. Wine Spectator, in its obituary, called him a tireless promoter of Barbera.

Without a handful of stubborn producers, Barbera would still be the house wine. Chiarlo was one of them.

Cerequio, and a claim I cannot check

Cerequio lies between La Morra and Barolo: about 24 hectares at 280 to 420 metres, shaped like an amphitheatre. Chiarlo holds six of them, according to its own site. Cannubi followed in 1989.

The house says the soil holds up to four times more magnesium than the Barolo average, and that this contributes to the wine’s mint and eucalyptus notes. I am happy to believe the wine smells of mint. That magnesium helps put it there is the producer’s claim, and the release names no source for it.

That list says more about the house than the description of the hillside. Five times in thirty-five years it chose to leave its top wine out rather than make it. The press office did not say why those five.

What the anniversary release leaves out

The founder died on 18 November 2023, aged 88. The release does not mention it, yet he is present throughout. The Cannubi Path by artist Ugo Nespolo, opened in October 2024, is described as “a wish of Michele Chiarlo”.

The release also has him founding the winery at twenty-three. Decanter gives his date of birth as 25 May 1935, and the press office confirmed it when I asked: he was twenty-one. It called the release wrong on that point.

Alberto and Stefano Chiarlo holding glasses of red wine in front of a brick wall

Press photo supplied by Michele Chiarlo: his sons Alberto and Stefano. Not taken by me.

His sons Stefano and Alberto run the company now. Stefano mentions “the new challenges of viticulture” and leaves it there. The house’s own April release on Cerequio 2022 describes a hot, dry year with growth two weeks ahead and picking from 20 September.

What the estate does in the vineyard in response, I cannot find. What I can find is everything built around the wine: an art park in 2003, the Palás Cerequio hotel in 2011 with eleven suites and a Sky Bar, the path on Cannubi.

I understand why a winery wants guests. Still, one of the four parts of a text about seventy years of winemaking covers art and hospitality, and none covers climate.

Four young members of the Chiarlo family raise their glasses sitting in the grass between the vines

Press photo supplied by Michele Chiarlo: the next generation of the family, from left to right Matteo, Bianca, Michela and Pietro. Not taken by me.

What a bottle of Michele Chiarlo costs

In the Netherlands, Grandcruwijnen lists Barolo Cerequio at €94.95 (2019), €109.95 (2020) and €103 (2021). I could not find the anniversary 2022 there at the time of writing.

If the 2022 lands at the same level, I would not buy it untasted. The house calls it “already approachable”, with “clear ageing potential”. With a Barolo at around a hundred euros from a hot year, I want to taste that second part for myself.

I asked for a sample in April. After my questions about this piece, the press office promised one after all; it has not arrived yet. So I have no verdict of my own yet.

To understand what this house stood for across seventy years, start with the Barbera. I have not tasted these either; I am going on the story and the price. Italian retailer Vino.com lists Nizza Cipressi 2023 at €16.90 and Nizza Riserva La Court 2021 at €52. That is the Michele Chiarlo story at a sixth of the price of the Barolo.

For a Barolo from a grower whose vineyard work I can describe, I would look at Enrico Rivetto in Serralunga d’Alba, whom I profiled here.

I would open the Cipressi on a Tuesday.

Sources

Press release “1956-2026: Michele Chiarlo marks 70 years of history”, Well Com on behalf of Michele Chiarlo, 8 October 2026
Press release “Michele Chiarlo and the singularity of Barolo Cerequio told through the evolution of thirty vintages”, Well Com on behalf of Michele Chiarlo, 7 April 2026
Wine Spectator, “Italian Winemaker Michele Chiarlo, Known for Barolo and Barbera, Dies at 88”, 21 November 2023: winespectator.com
Decanter, “Piedmont wine icon Michele Chiarlo passes away”, November 2023: decanter.com
Email from Well Com (Beatrice Fulcheris) to VinoVonk, 13 and 14 October 2026: Michele Chiarlo’s date of birth, the skipped vintages, the names in the family photo and where the photos were taken
Michele Chiarlo, technical sheet Barolo Cerequio (first vintage 1988): michelechiarlo.it
Michele Chiarlo (official), history of the house: michelechiarlo.it
Grandcruwijnen, prices checked on 8 October 2026: grandcruwijnen.nl
Vino.com, prices checked on 8 October 2026: vino.com

This article is based on two press releases and images from Michele Chiarlo. I have not visited the winery and have not tasted the wines mentioned. Nothing was paid for this piece and I received no bottle. All photos with this article are press images from Michele Chiarlo; I did not take them.