Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Packaged with the black label, the Bruno Rocca 2013 Barbaresco Maria Adelaide pours from the bottle with a medium garnet color and an elegantly compact appearance. The bouquet has moved away from primary intensity to embrace some beautiful tertiary definition; however, it appears lively and bright nonetheless. This special bottling (made with a selection of the estate's best fruit) shows lots of the proverbial red fruit energy (as opposed to dark fruit) that is so specific to Nebbiolo. Maria Adelaide undergoes a more drawn out oak regime with 18 months in barrique followed by another 12 months in oak casks.
Rating: 96+ -
James Suckling
A meaty and earthy red with strawberries, meat, walnuts and flowers on the nose. Medium to full body, round and juicy tannins and a meat, red-fruit and lightly chocolatey finish. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
This red has some weight, if not fully mature and expressive yet. Offers plenty of tar, iron and underbrush notes, with the currant and cherry flavors buried. It holds together nicely, with a lingering finish. Best from 2024 through 2038.
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.