Winemaker Notes
Red garnet colour of good intensity. On the nose you can perceive delicate aromas of ripe red fruit; In the mouth it has a good balance and a good tannic texture. The tannins are present but sweet and silky, good persistence and excellent nose-mouth correspondence.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Very classy and perfumed, with ripe strawberries, spice, cedar, sandalwood and iron shavings that follow through to a medium body with extremely long and pointed tannins that go on and on. Lightly chewy at the end. Racy Asili. Hard not to drink now. Best after 2029.
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Decanter
As transparent as it is intense, the nose presents dark cherry and raspberry entwined with mint, lilac and mace. The palate amplifies these perfumes and brings in nuances of truffle and citrus zest. Chalky tannins are refined, and scintillating acidity surges between the layers giving a satisfying crunch on the lingering finish. Harvested on 4 October, the estate’s Asili rises above the challenges of 2022 demonstrating, above all, breed of site and skill of winemaking. Bruna Giacosa confirms that she will not produce any Riserva in 2022, saying that while the vintage resembles 2015 somewhat, it doesn’t have the same ageing potential.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The team will not produce a 2022 Riserva release, and the 2022 Barbaresco Asili will be only release from Asili. From this cru with sandier soils, it was aged for 20 months in large barrels. In the glass, it boasts a jewel-toned ruby color and is fresh and ripe with aromas of pure raspberries, wild strawberries, rocky earth, and pressed roses. The palate is fruity and appealing, with refreshing lift, well-defined tannins, even acidity, and a kiss of stone fruit and mouthwatering salinity on the finish. It has just a hint of warmth, but it’s very well-balanced and joyful, making it a pretty vintage of this wine. Drink 2026-2050.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Bruno Giacosa 2022 Barbaresco Asili is hitting the market now. It was bottled on the 15th of July, 2024. This elegant wine shows the finely tuned and nuanced essence of Asili with its fine soils. It opens to a bright ruby color and delivers chalky tannins that retain their tension and grippy feel. On the close, you get hints of violets and blue flower. This is a very terroir-driven wine, but it needs more time in bottle to fully express itself. There will be a red label, or Riserva, made in 2020 to be released later this year (that I have reviewed here). A 2021 Riserva will be released in 2026. If Bruna Giacosa (daughter of the late Bruno Giacosa) makes a red label, the white label is not produced.
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Vinous
The 2022 Barbaresco Asili is gorgeous. Silky, aromatic and light on its feet, the 2022 is classic Asili all the way. Its translucent finesse and energy are remarkable. Today, the 2022 is a bit stern in terms of its tannins. While I don’t see the seductive fruit and inner perfume of Giacosa's best Asilis, the 2022 is still one of the finest wines to emerge from this cellar in years.
One of the legendary winemakers of the world, Bruno Giacosa crafted the most prestigious single-vineyard Barolo and Barbaresco wines during a career that spanned nearly eight decades. He joined the family business at the age of 15, representing the third generation of his Langhe winemaking family. Giacosa’s unfailing pursuit of perfection, his unrivalled palate and his intimate knowledge of vineyards in the Langhe quickly drew recognition and helped establish Piedmont as a leading wine region. In 1982, Giacosa began to acquire prime parcels in Serralunga d’Alba, La Morra and Barbaresco to produce wines that are rightly regarded as the finest expressions of Nebbiolo.
His legacy rests with daughter Bruna, who continues to uphold her father’s winemaking philosophy to respect traditional techniques while using the best of modern technology. The goal is for each distinguished site to produce articulate, unique wines.
The “Azienda Agricola Falletto – di Bruno Giacosa” label represents wines made from estate vineyards. The “Casa Vinicola Bruno Giacosa” label appears on wines made from purchased grapes that are made with the same care in the Nieve winery.
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.