Winemaker Notes
Bright ruby-red colored with a pale orange tinge. Delicate, intense and gentle aromas. Scents of wilted rose, sweet spices and small fruit. Dry, soft and nearly velvety on the palate, great finesse, balance and elegance.
Best served at about 65° F in a large balloon wine glass. It is excellent with game and meat in general and pairs wonderfully with cheese, both fresh and aged.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Wild berry, fragrant blue flower, cake spice and a whiff of camphor pave the way. Linear, structured and elegant, the palate delivers juicy red cherry, raspberry compote, star anise and a hint of tobacco. It's still young but already well balanced, with fresh acidity and youthfully austere but refined tannins. Drink 2023–2030.
Cellar Selection -
Decanter
Rombone is a vineyard with marl soil in the commune of Treiso. This interpretation exhibits sweet, smoky cherry, marzipan and raspberry aromas. The attack is lifted and lively, leading to a palate that's fresh and perky. It's a concentrated wine, yet it has light tannins so it doesn't come across as overextracted. It's not the most complex of wines, but it is balanced and well made, with just a slight lack of acidity and drive on the fairly long finish.
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James Suckling
Rather subtle notes of candied lemons and orange peel. This is a seriously tannic, very linear nebbiolo. It is pretty challenging right now but it should all develop nicely. Surely better from 2020.
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.