Winemaker Notes
Deep carmine red with carmine nuances tending towards garnet with age. full and mellow aromas, with floral and fruit notes that integrate well with the balsamic aromas imparted by ageing in oak. fresh palate with a savory bite and elegant, understated tannins. A refined, lingering finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A juicy, layered red with plum and cherry character, as well as white-pepper and salt undertones. Some cedar. It’s full-bodied, tight and chewy.
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Wine Enthusiast
Blue flower, crushed botanical herb, crushed berry and sunbaked earth aromas slowly take shape in the glass. The compact, rather austere palate features dried cherry, blood orange, licorice and a hint of coffee bean alongside tightly wound, fine-grained tannins.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Valeirano is located in Treiso with limestone and white marne soils and is sourced from vines planted in 1971. The 2017 Barbaresco Valeirano is aromatic of cranberry compote, vanilla bean, smoke, and anise. On the palate, there is ripe pomegranate, black tea, and blood orange with fine building tannins.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A classic but accessible expression of fruit from a two-hectare site in the village of Treiso (with its rolling hills and wide views of the beautiful Barbaresco landscape), the Ada Nada 2017 Barbaresco Valeirano reveals a silky and lean appearance with wild berries and crushed flowers. There is an almost exotic touch to the bouquet with hints of coriander or saffron. When all is said and done, this Barbaresco shows character and depth and will be a pleasure to open with a small serving of risotto alla Milanese in the next few years.
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.