Winemaker Notes
Full body vintage with ripe red fruit, solid tannic structure, good drinkability solid structure, intense minerality, spicy fruit, slow maturing tannins
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
This small cooperative goes from strength to strength under the dynamic management of Aldo Vacca. Montestefano is one of the top sites in the commune of Barbaresco. The nose is still reserved, but there are rich red fruits lurking. Very concentrated on the palate, this is lush and approachable, although one senses there is much in reserve, with excellent ageing potential. It's taut and imposing, with a finish that's tangy and persistent.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is the last wine I tasted in this group of nine from Produttori del Barbaresco. The reason I placed the 2015 Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano last is because it is usually considered to be the most powerful and determined in the flight. However, when you really get down to it, this vintage is more tight, streamlined and ethereal than expected. It is saving the best for later, and indeed, the wine is poised to evolve and open fully many years from now. There is a note of shyness here or restraint.
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Wine Enthusiast
Balsamic aromas of camphor mingle with mature dark-skinned berry, leather, licorice and vanilla on this structured red. The full-bodied palate reflects the nose, delivering raspberry compote, star anise, crushed mint and hazelnut alongside firm, fine-grained tannins. Drink after 2023.
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Wine Spectator
This is supple and expressive, featuring strawberry, cherry, floral and freshly cut hay flavors on an elegant frame, undergirded by a stiff backbone of tannins, with racy acidity and a finish that melds the ripe fruity component with the structure. Tar, tobacco and licorice accents linger. Best from 2023 through 2045.
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.