Winemaker Notes
The name Vecchie Vigne was attributed to the Sori Paitin in 1999 when the plants reached the 45th year of age, only produced in few vintages.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The epitome of savoury austerity yet still clean and vibrant, this is haunting from start to finish. A bouquet of porcini mushroom, ginseng, cranberry tea, graphite and orange oil introduces a super-tangy palate which packs sinewy power with profound depth. There is lots of chew yet without hard edges or extra weight, and in all its rigour it still manages to express the graciousness of the vintage. Concluding notes of tar, gravelly road and allspice hint at what is to come. Made only in select years since 1999, Paitin’s Riserva is from a 70+ year-old massal selection at the top of the Serraboella MGA. It sees a classic submerged cap maceration with long ageing in a single 25-hectolitre Slavonian oak cask. Super!
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Paitin 2020 Barbaresco Serraboella Riserva Sorì Paitin Vecchie Vigne is a special wine that stands apart from its peers. Its distinct character leans into savory aromas of earth, truffle and spice that tie in beautifully with the wine's dark core of fruit. Although the bouquet is very expressive and spicy, the wine produces a lean to medium-bodied texture with powdery dry tannins that give it immediate appeal. You can wait to cellar it longer, but this vintage could ultimately offer more pleasure if consumed in the near term.
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Wine Spectator
Intense and aromatic, this red offers cherry, raspberry, floral, iron and underbrush flavors. The vivid acidity and beefy tannins are prominent now, yet there’s viscosity midpalate. In the end, this finds its equilibrium, while the flavors persist on the saturated 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.