Winemaker Notes
Barbaresco Gallina is typically elegant with its refined bouquet and palate, and assertive tannins. It is the expression of a marl soil rich in fine sand. Red in color with pale garnet tinges. Particular finesse in the bouquet, with balance and complexity, scents of ripe red fruit, spices and violets (typical of Nebbiolo). Mouth-filling tannins, excellent persistence on the palate.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Very pale ruby in the glass. Elegant and restrained, with aromas of straw, wild strawberry, Parma violet, roots and minerality; very complex and sleek. Sucrosity and concentration on the palate, with a full body, velvety, refined tannins of great elegance, then a savoury and vibrant finish. Dried cherry and cinnamon on the aftertaste, sustained by fierce, tense acidity. A great wine. Oddero owns 2ha in Gallina MGA, mostly planted 60 years ago otherwise less than 13 years. South exposition at 200m. The handling is traditional but with delicate extraction and a shorter maceration not longer than 25 days (including fermentation). The wine ages in 40-hectolitre oak vessels for 24 months.
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Wine Spectator
Elegant and well-integrated, offering strawberry, wild cherry, floral, licorice and tobacco aromas and flavors. Succulent and harmonious, remaining fresh and resonant as this lingers on the long, mineral-infused aftertaste. Best from 2026 through 2042. 800 cases made.
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.