Winemaker Notes
Garnet red with brilliant hues, this elegant wine expresses a fine bouquet with notes of small red fruits, rose petals and tea leaves. The tannins are fine and aristocratic, and the finish is long and full of flavor.
Pair with risotto, braised veal shank, or lamb with herbs.
Blend: 100% Nebbiolo
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Broad and fleshy, offering well-integrated flavors of plum, cherry, menthol and iron, plus a firm structure. Deftly balanced, with a long, fruit- and savory-infused aftertaste. Juicy and refreshing on the finish.
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James Suckling
This has a pretty nose of dried flowers, tea leaves, cocoa beans, nutmeg and wild berry fruit. It’s focused and precise with a tight tannin frame and a full body. Excellent balance.
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Wine Enthusiast
Cherry cola flavors mingle with spices reminiscent of clove, nutmeg and anise while cherry lollipop aromas lift from the glass. On the palate, a yin-yang interplay emerges, with savory notes balancing the upfront fruitiness of the wine as astringent tannins impart a bitter, pithy quality.
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.