Winemaker Notes
Bright garnet red with slight orange reflections. Intense and pleasant hints of plum and cherry blend sinuously with balsamic nuances of mint, tea leaves, dried flowers and blond pipe tobacco.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
This delicate, midweight wine opens with scents of fresh cherry and dewy rose petal that lead into tangy red berry flavors brightened by a twist of orange zest. Some dark mineral tones emerge with air, but this is a wine to enjoy in the next five years.
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Wine Spectator
Though firm, there is an elegance to this red, whose flavor profile ranges from strawberry and cherry to tobacco and tea. Taut and linear, with fine balance and a long, red fruit, stone and savory aftertaste.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas recalling camphor, woodland berries, mint and French oak waft out of the glass. Reflecting the nose, the elegant, linear palate offers tart cherry, star anise and espresso framed in taut, close-grained tannins.
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.