Winemaker Notes
Blend: 100% Nebbiolo
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Attractive Barbaresco with dark fruit and chocolate as well as crushed walnuts and spices. Full-bodied with firm and tight tannins that need some time to soften. Toned and energetic. Lots of intensity and potential. Dry and polished finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Ca’ Rome’ 2019 Barbaresco Chiaramanti has a slightly exotic bouquet with tangy cherry and cooked pear with cola, Indian spice and some lingering balsam herb. There is a lot to discover in terms of aromas, but ultimately, the wine is straight-shooting in terms of mouthfeel with a very direct and linear overall approach. There is a big dose of licorice or toasted aniseed at the end.
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Wine Enthusiast
This captivating Barbaresco entices with gentle aromas of sour cherry, wild herbs, roses, savory spices and anise. Its elegance shines through crystalline fruit, balanced by savory and earthy tones. Fine tannins and fresh acidity frame the wine gracefully, leading to a superbly savory finish.
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.