Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This Barbaresco carries something rare, a presence that is both serious and full of joy without ever choosing between the two. Sliced strawberries macerating in a bowl, florals leaping from the glass like they have somewhere to be. Pretty red fruit gives way to bitter orange peel, savory herbs and dusty earth, tannins holding without force while a precise black tea note writes the final line. Drink now to 2040.
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Vinous
The 2023 Barbaresco Serraboella is a very pretty, understated wine. Sweet floral and spice overtones lead into a core of cool, red-toned fruit. Medium in body, with lovely inner sweetness and perfume. The 2023 has a lot going on. Its balance is impeccable.
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Wine Spectator
Dusty cherry, strawberry, floral and leafy underbrush flavors mark this sleek yet firm and dense red. Tightens up on the lightly astringent finish, where a rose hip tea accent lingers. Fluid yet firm. Best from 2030 through 2045.
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James Suckling
A subtle, floral wine, showing ripe red cherries plus a whiff of pepper and spices. Light-bodied and crunchy with crisp acidity and a lean finish.
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.