Winemaker Notes
An ideal wine to be drunk with red and white meats reachly seasoned or with mature cheeses.
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Tasted from barrel, the beautiful 2012 Barbaresco Martinenga is shaping up to be an exemplary edition of this celebrated wine. Already at this young stage, it shows an impressive level of harmony and intensity with an impeccable sense of vertical lift. This is a wine of energy and loud varietal voice. It speaks volumes of the Nebbiolo grape with etched tones of wild berry, balsam herb, cola and licorice. Range: 91-93
-
Wine & Spirits
Winemaker Jeffrey Chilcott calls 2012 a “gentle vintage,” this wine more delicate than the 2011 Martinenga (recommended below). It offers delicate floral scents and high-toned flavors of red cherry and orange peel that glide along fine, chalky tannins. Give this a year or two to absorb the toasty spice notes picked up from a few months in barriques; it has plenty of early appeal.
-
Wine Spectator
A pleasing mix of mint, cherry, strawberry and tobacco aromas and flavors gets support from a firm spine, with freshness and persistence on the lingering finish. Best from 2018 through 2029.
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.