Prapò

Prapò is one of Serralunga d’Alba’s most distinctive MGAs, a south-southeast-facing slope at 290–360 metres where the compact Helvetian sandstone that gives the commune its formidable character meets the younger Tortonian marls. The site is indelibly associated with Ettore Germano, who has produced single-vineyard Prapò Barolo for many years — one of the most compelling interpretations of Serralunga typicity in the entire appellation.

In Germano’s hands, Prapò consistently delivers Barolo of great concentration and structural authority: iron, dark cherry, tar, and dried rose on the nose; dense, compacted tannins on the palate framed by high acidity and a long, saline-mineral finish. The southeast exposure extends the growing season and allows the fruit to develop with excellent complexity without losing the natural tension that makes Serralunga Barolo so compelling as a long-aging proposition. These soils are poor in nutrients and drain rapidly, stressing the vines and concentrating the must, producing wines with an intensity of character matched by few other MGAs in the Langhe. Prapò demands twelve to twenty years of cellaring in the finest vintages; those willing to provide it will be rewarded with Barolo of profound complexity and defining mineral character.