Winemaker Notes
A refined and balanced olfactory experience, offering a pleasing balance and seamless integration of various aromatic elements. Dry on the palate, allowing flavors to shine through more prominently. Velvety tannins contribute to a silky texture.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Cascading layers of red cherry and damson plum weave through classic rose petal and forest floor, while subtle hints of licorice and warm spice add intrigue. The palate unfolds with graceful power, think silk scarf caught in a breeze. Those classic Barbaresco tannins are present but polished, suggesting a beautiful future ahead. A wine that whispers of old-school charm. Drink Now - 2045.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Barbaresco is a medium red color and offers ripe but somewhat reserved aromatics of raspberries, sweet herbs, tarry earth, and crushed flowers. It is medium-bodied with a good deal of compact ripeness, although it’s well-balanced and pure, with fine tannins that build a bit through the finish, and it closes with a lightly drying sensation. It's likely not going to be the longest ager, but it has a lot to offer over the next several years. Drink 2025-2035.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Fontanabianca 2022 Barbaresco feels a little faded by the summer heat and drought. The fruit is not entirely primary, as it has already evolved, showing hints of tobacco leaf and tea. I also get earthy tones and a hint of iris root. I would recommend a short-term drinking window for this wine so you can enjoy the primary fruit while it lasts. Fruit comes from the Starderi MGA and other sites.
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.