Socre Barbaresco 2007
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Robert
Parker
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 Barbaresco is a pretty, feminine wine with tons of Nebbiolo character in its spices, red berries, flowers and minerals. I particularly admire the way the wine's inner juiciness and sweetness emerges over time, adding a wonderful sense of proportion to the classically built frame. Tasted a second time a few hours later, the wine came together even more beautifully.
The birth of Socre occurred in 1871, when Marco Piacentino's great-grandfather Giovanni l'Alessandrino bought this land in Barbaresco. Every since Socre initially sold it's grapes to private citizens of Barbaresco and various wine cellars in the Barbaresco zone, and only produced a small percentage of wine for family consumption. In 1999 all of this came to an end when Marco decided to gradually increase the amount of grapes used for wine production and invest in equipment and machinery for his own bottling.
The decision to expand does not stop here. Rosella and Marco Piacentino have been enlarging the business also by planting new vines in the original vineyards in Barbaresco in the famous cru of Roncaglie. They have purchased other vineyards in Neviglie in Barbaresco and Cisterna d'Asti in Roero where they have planted Barbera, Croatina, Cabernet and Merlot.
Wines such as Croatina and Cisterna d'Asti were also a matter of interest and attention to Marco. Marco's idea is to keep local tradition alive in offering clients of Socre’ traditional varietals that offer a fresh alternative to the land's more renowned wines such as Barbera d'Alba, Barbera d'Asti, Langhe Nebbiolo and the raisined wine Camplongh, as well as a dry white wine called Via Nuova.
The vineyards of Socre in Barbaresco (about 3 hectares) are just below the wine cellar, and are the heart and soul of the estate. The land slopes downwards quite steeply, with western and southern exposure; the land's altitude is between 250 and 290m above sea level. The earth is mainly clayey, with a limestone base and sharp alkaline reaction.
The pride of Socre by far is again, the cru of Roncaglie Alto. As early as 1880, Roncaglie was already recognized as one of the best and most important areas for Barbaresco production, also mentioned in Lorenzo Fantini's fundamental publication on Viticulture and Oenology in the Province of Cuneo. Argilo-calcaire soils, perfect exposition (South and South-west), mild winds and great temperatures fluctuations, give rise to deep and elegant wines. The vineyards (with ages ranging rom 10 to 50 years) are planted with a density ranging from 4500 vines per ha up to 8000 vines per ha.
Roncaglie Alto is a very respected area just below the vineyard of the renowned Angelo Gaja vineyard called Sori' Tilden. Separating the two vineyards is the road from Alba before the hamlet of Tre Stelle bearing amazing views of the vineyards of Barbaresco. The vines of Roncaglie were planted in 1959 by Marco's grandfather Giovanni and are still bearing incredible fruit.
Guido Busatto has been brought in as the enologist in charge to help make the Socre a top player in the world of wines from the Le Langhe. Before this the Roncaglie cru has never taken advantage of how great this vineyard really is except for Angelo Gaja who has never named Roncaglie on his labels. Because of this, Roncaglie has not had the privilege in the past of displaying such honor on the front label by any estate. All this will change. The vineyards of Socre has huge potential in making world lass wines and this is exactly what Socre is capable of making…world class wines.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
A wine that most perfectly conveys the spirit and essence of its place, Barbaresco is true reflection of terroir. Its star grape, like that in the neighboring Barolo region, is Nebbiolo. Four townships within the Barbaresco zone can produce Barbaresco: the actual village of Barbaresco, as well as Neive, Treiso and San Rocco Seno d'Elvio.
Broadly speaking there are more similarities in the soils of Barbaresco and Barolo than there are differences. Barbaresco’s soils are approximately of the same two major soil types as Barolo: blue-grey marl of the Tortonion epoch, producing more fragile and aromatic characteristics, and Helvetian white yellow marl, which produces wines with more structure and tannins.
Nebbiolo ripens earlier in Barbaresco than in Barolo, primarily due to the vineyards’ proximity to the Tanaro River and lower elevations. While the wines here are still powerful, Barbaresco expresses a more feminine side of Nebbiolo, often with softer tannins, delicate fruit and an elegant perfume. Typical in a well-made Barbaresco are expressions of rose petal, cherry, strawberry, violets, smoke and spice. These wines need a few years before they reach their peak, the best of which need over a decade or longer. Bottle aging adds more savory characteristics, such as earth, iron and dried fruit.