Winemaker Notes
An explosion of fresh perfumes, with raspberry and rose nuances. Red fruit flavors well integrated with aromatic, light and delicate aromas. Fine tannins and breathtaking elegance.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
La Spinetta's 2019 Barbaresco Bordini opens to a wide and ample set of Nebbiolo aromas spanning from Morello cherry and plum, to dark earth and spicy licorice. This is a solid, mid-weight expression and a wine that ultimately lasts long on the palate thanks to the density and quality of its texture. Best After 2024
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James Suckling
The roses and lemon leaf come through in the nose, with a palate of cherries and plums. Medium-bodied with chewy yet fine tannins and a medium finish.
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Wine Spectator
Both rich and dense, this Barbaresco exhibits aromas and flavors of black cherry, blackberry, iron, underbrush and earth. Dense and persistent, with fine balance overall and a lingering 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.