Winemaker Notes
20 year old vines planted in calcareous, sandy soil in Bricco di Neive 350 meters above sea level. Fermentation and maceration: 15-20 days in steel vats at controlled temperatures with indigenous yeasts. Aged 26 months in large Slavonian oak casks.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
From 25-year-old vines on sandy hillside soils just outside the winery, the 2022 Barbaresco Bricco Di Neive Vie Erte was fermented in stainless steel and aged 24 months in 2,000- to 2,500-liter Slavonian oak casks. It opens with sweet herbs, raspberries, and orange peel, highlighting the site’s natural finesse. Medium-bodied, it’s light on its feet, with refined tannins and balanced acidity, making it especially approachable and charming in this warm vintage.
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Vinous
The 2022 Barbaresco Bricco di Neive Vie Erte is impeccable. I especially admire its mid-palate richness, something that is not always found here. Red fruit, blood orange, star anise and floral overtones lend striking beauty along with a palpable feeling of exoticism. Best of all, the 2022 can be enjoyed with minimal cellaring if given some air. This is a very classy wine.
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.