Winemaker Notes
Prunotto Barbaresco is an intense garnet red color. The nose delivers complex aromas of red fruit and hints of spices. The palate is full-bodied, velvety and closes with a persistent aftertaste.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
An overt style, the candied nose showing red fruits, raspberries, roses and a touch of gingerbread. Sweet and medium-bodied on the palate, this has refreshing acidity and velvety tannins that turn dustier in the savory finish. Try from 2026.
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Wine Spectator
Bright and lively, this red evokes cherry, strawberry, floral, menthol and licorice flavors. A light dusting of tannins lines the finish. Should be approachable in a few years.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A translucent medium ruby hue, the 2022 Barbaresco is zesty and spicy on the nose with forward notes of anise, orange zest, fresh mint, cranberry, and dried earth. The palate shows the fruity and sunny side of the vintage, and it’s medium-framed and light on its feet, with a clean and easygoing feel. It’s not the most profound wine, but it offers a lot of immediate appeal. Drink 2025-2032.
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Wine Enthusiast
Here's Nebbiolo showing its friendlier side, where ripe red cherries and autumn spices create an inviting welcome. The palate delivers that classic Barbaresco muscle but wraps it in silk, with tannins that grip just right and bright acidity that makes everything sing. A perfect introduction to the greatness of what Barbaresco has to offer.
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.