Winemaker Notes
#5 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2016
Ruby red color. Aromas are abundant with refined red fruit notes. Flavors are complex and refined with a full-body, rich tannins and long finish.
Pairs well with fresh egg pastas, risottos, white meats, red meats, venison and cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Intense aromas of cherry, rose, licorice and tar pick up tobacco, spice and mineral elements on the palate. Concentrated, yet elegant and expressive, with more to give. Ends with a long aftertaste of fruit, underbrush and mineral. Best from 2018 through 2032.
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James Suckling
Aromas of lavender, blackberry and and slate follow through to a medium body, ultra-fine tannins and a pretty, berry, dark chocolate and spice undertone. Superb finesse and class.
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Wine Enthusiast
On the intensity scale, the 2011 Barbaresco Riserva Asili veers towards the lighter and more ethereal side of the Nebbiolo spectrum. The wine offers a delicately nuanced bouquet with menthol tones and balsam herb that segue to wild berry, light spice, blue violets and crushed mineral. Those mineral notes render a polished, dry and silky approach overall. The tannins are finely tuned and delineated with grace. This wine is more petite and feminine compared to the other Riservas released this year, but it shows its power and aging potential nonetheless.
Rating: 94(+)
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Wine & Spirits
Asili feels cloaked at first, opening on low tones of black cherry, tobacco and morel mushroom. Its dark and savory flavors slowly take on brighter aspects, picking up spicy notes and mouthwatering acidity even as the umami flavors intensify. The vineyard sits in a warm, southwest-facing bowl that concentrates the wine’s dark savor, making it an intriguing partner for roast beef.
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.