Winemaker Notes
This is the standard-bearer for the estate. The vines are planted within the confines of Barbaresco scattered among various crus, including Rabajà and Pozzo. The average age of the vines is 35 years. After harvest, the juice is fermented in stainless steel for approximately two weeks; then the wine is racked into large oak “botti” to age at least 18 additional months. This wine is emblematic of the work done at the De Forville estate: the wine is rigorously traditional, marrying the finesse of Barbaresco with the alluring aromas and flavors of truffle, earth, berries, rose, tar and leather and carrying, most important of all, a backbone of sweet, dusty tannins that give length and breed.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2022 Barbaresco offers up scents of sweet tobacco, cedar, dried herbs, macerated cherry, kirsch and mint. I would cellar the 2022 for at least a year, as the tannins are pretty imposing for the wine's mid-weight structure at this stage.
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.