Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
Angelo Rocca is committed to quality in his winery, and his vineyards. For generations his family has grown grapes in the hills of Barbaresco, starting at the turn of the 20th century.
Today Angelo continues to work in the vineyards as well as the cellar. He seeks balance and harmony in combining traditional techniques and modern technologies.
Slowly but steadily he has increased the size of his estate to its current 18 hectares. With most of his vineyards located in Barbaresco, Angelo also has vineyards in Neive as well as in the small village San Rocco Seno d'Elvio, which is located right outside of the town of Alba but is still in the Barbaresco appellation. In addition to Nebbiolo and Barbaresco, the grape and wine that are Angelo's greatest passion, the estate also produces Barbera, Dolcetto, Cortese and Chardonnay.
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.
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.