Michele Chiarlo

Cerequio, the choicest location for Barolo, celebrates this great Italian wine along with its history and crus. Palas Cerequio is a resort evoking Barolo at every turn; the Caveau, with its 50 vintages, is its proud guardian.

 

The Palas, a Piedmont term which means "luxury building", is located near the old hamlet of Cerequio, renovated according to a search for two styles - past and future – today it has become a site steeped in local culture. Here wine is absolutely key to everything and takes guests on a journey towards wellness and interiority.
Cerequio Palas is the world’s first Relais dedicated to Barolo crus, whose essence is discernible in every area: from the works of Giancarlo Ferraris to the selection of the most emblematic  crus of Barolo linked to the names of the Palas suites, from the architectural details to the exhibit showcases of clods of different soils, from the finishing materials to the views of the surrounding vineyards.
In addition to the Caveau, Palas also includes "Vertigo", a large collection of 400 Langa wines for vertical and horizontal tastings.

In the three Piedmont areas where our establishments exist - Langhe, Monferrato and Gavi - we have at our disposal 110 hectares of vineyards: 60 hectares owned by our family and also the 50 hectares under longterm agreement. A technical staff, headed by Stefano Chiarlo, handles the running of the vineyards and is entrusted with the task of scrupulously overseeing their cultivation,with the aim of achieving high quality wines while respecting the most exacting ecological criteria. In particular, the following procedures are adhered to: a balanced and rigorous pruning depending on the oenological goals: fungicidal treatments using products with low environmental impact, following the technique of guided pest control meticulous manual exfoliation; turfing between the rows; no use of anti-mould products.

The Chiarlo style has always been that of producing highly elegant and complex wines, besides their propensity to an excellent longevity, in which are evident the vine's recognisability and terroir of provenance. To achieve these results we have always firstly considered the layout of vineyards in hilly zones, often impervious and in excellent terroir for every single variety. 

By thinning out the grape clusters, thus often sacrificing a conspicuous part of the production, the yield is programmed in light of the oenological objectives of each individual wine. In the cellar a technical staff co-ordinated by oenologists Stefano Chiarlo and Gianni Meleni pursue the aim of being faithful to the Chiarlo style: for the red wines, the moderate and very careful use of wood so that only the varietal and terroir characteristics be evident. 

As for Gavi, besides a particularly suitable terrain, it is fundamental that the grape yield of the generous Cortese vine be lowered, while in the cellar one of our prerogatives is a partial cryomaceration of the grapes. One of our extraordinarily successful white wines is Moscato d'Asti Nivole; a dessert wine unique for its provenance from the highly suitable hills in an area with a calcareous-marl soil rich in trace elements and with a west to south-east exposition. It is a fairly pulpy and delicate wine that makes it very enticing and pleasant. Among the red wines, we attach particular importance to the Barbera d'Asti, a wine that we have revolutionised, starting from the 1970s, by being the first to introduce malolactic fermentation.