Cigliuti Barbaresco Serraboella 2016
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Try pairing with roast and braised red meats, game, truffle dishes, mature cheeses.
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Smokey and full, modernist barbaresco, chocolate and forest floor with dense chinese tea and dried rose petal. Soft, full and fleshy on the palate, there is good tannic grip here and the wine will age memorably for many years. A very muscular Barbaresco. RS: Smokey and full, modernist barbaresco, chocolate and forest floor with dense chinese tea and dried rose petal, dark coloured chocolate with firm structure and grippy tannins. BW: Pretty strawberry fruit, fresh acidity but intense with great complexity. Well integrated oak even if a little grippy on the finish now. Great potential to age. AH: Massive wine on both the nose, in its impenetrable colour and on the palate. 2016 was an amazing year but surprised still to see this colour, high alcohol and density. Yet, underneath, this still shows some of the classic nebbiolo fragrance. Soft, full and fleshy on the palate, there is good tannic grip here and the wine will age memorably for many years. A very muscular Barbaresco.
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Wine Spectator
A gorgeous expression of cherry and raspberry flavors, plus floral hints, sets the pace. Accents of mineral and underbrush add depth as this cruises to a long finish. Best from 2023 through 2043.
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The Fratelli Cigliuti winery is situated on the Serraboella hill, 350 metres above sea level, overlooking the village of Neive, in the Langhe region of Piemonte, N.W. Italy. Neive is one of the three villages responsible for producing Barbaresco from the Nebbiolo grape. The territory of Langhe is characterised by hills, steep slopes and a predominantly calcareous clay soil. The climate is mainly continental, with important differences in microclimate depending on the site. This terroir brings minerality, complexity, personality and longevity to the wines.
The estate is made up of 5 hectares on Serraboella, and 1.5 hectares on Bricco di Neive. Serraboella, rich in calcareous clay, is planted with Nebbiolo, Barbera, and Dolcetto; incorporating the single vineyard 'Campass'. The sandier Bricco di Neive is planted exclusively with Nebbiolo. The Cigliuti family tend the vineyards themselves, by hand, and in a way which respects the environment. Yields are kept low in order to harvest the finest fruit.
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.