Winemaker Notes
Ideal with richly seasoned meats (red or white) or mature cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Compared to the 2015 vintage that I tasted at the same time, the 2016 Barbaresco Martinenga is slightly more saturated and concentrated in terms of appearance. This wine shows a dense inner core with dark fruit flavors, tannins and lively acidity that will continue to find integration as the wine moves forward in time. In fact, compared to the 2015 vintage, my bet is this wine will enjoy a much longer bottle evolution.
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Wine & Spirits
This is hightoned and floral, its tangy red berry flavors gracefully framed by precise, fine-grained tannins. The wine rested for its first year in French oak barriques followed by another year in large Slavonian casks, gaining notes of warm spice and toasted nuts that add depth to the bright fruit tones. This vibrant wine has a long life ahead of it yet is hard to resist now.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Stepping up on the quality level, the 2016 Barbaresco Martinenga offers lots of classic spiced cherry, road tar, violets, and dried herb aromas and flavors to go with a medium-bodied, supple, elegant style on the palate. With ripe tannins, plenty of mid-palate depth, and a great finish, it's a beautiful wine that should evolve for 20 years or more.
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Wine Enthusiast
Camphor, wild berry, crushed botanical herbs and forest floor aromas mingle with new French oak. Structured, austere and full bodied, the assertive palate offers black cherry jam, espresso, licorice, thyme and orange zest set against bracing, close-grained tannins vibrant acidity. It has a drying, firm finish. Best 2026–2036.
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.