Winemaker Notes
Unfiltered to preserve its richness, this remarkably elegant Barbaresco offers concentrated aromas of raspberries, roses, violets, leather and spice. Full-bodied with robust flavor and firm tannins.
This Barbaresco pairs well with roasted meat or wild game dishes.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Enticing scents of blue flower, crushed mint, berry and vineyard dust form the nose along with a whiff of new leather. The firmly structured, focused palate shows cherry marinated in spirits, black raspberry and licorice alongside a backbone of fine-grained tannins. It's well-balanced, with vibrant acidity. 2027–2039.
Cellar Selection -
Wine Spectator
Silky and expressive, delivering cherry, strawberry, rose, white pepper and anise seed aromas and flavors. Ripe and caressing midpalate, turning firmer and taut as this winds down on the lengthy, mineral-tinged finish. Features fine balance and potential for aging.
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Vinous
The 2019 Barbaresco Rabajà has just been bottled, so it is rather nervous, but its completeness on the palate is pretty evident. Rose petal, orange peel, spice, mint and sweet pipe tobacco open with a bit of coaxing. There is a feeling of transparency in the 2019 that is so appealing, while the natural richness of the year builds effortlessly over time.
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Wine & Spirits
This big and brooding wine is packed with flavors of dark cherry, black tea and tobacco wrapped in dense, chewy tannins. Its compact and extracted profile is built for the long haul, yet with a few hours of air it begins to show crushed violet scents and bright notes of mint, cedar and eucalyptus.
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Decanter
Graphite, pot pourri, black cherry and wild strawberry aromas. Dense and structured tannins with a savoury tone. Chocolatey finish with good fruit concentration and complexity, will evolve.
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James Suckling
Sliced strawberry with citrus and rosebush aromas that follow through to a medium body with firm, chewy tannins. Yet, there’s polish and finesse to it. Needs time to soften.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
With fruit from the village of Barbaresco, the 2019 Barbaresco Rabajà is glossy and bright with dried berry, cassis, aniseed and candied orange peel. This silky wine offers medium length, silky tannins and easy freshness.
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.