Winemaker Notes
The color is ruby red. Bouquet of red fruit with delicate floral hints. On the palate it is elegant and full-bodied with a firm tannic finish.
Pairs well with fresh egg pastas, risottos, white meats, red meats, venison and cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Muncagota stands out in this group of nine for the slightly more mineral-driven definition on the bouquet and the bigger textural impact and structure of the mouthfeel. There is plenty of wild fruit and cherry, but the wine's aromas also veer toward crushed stone, iron ore, spice and candied orange peel. You feel the impact on the palate, thanks to integrated tannins, freshness and an elegant dose of fruit or phenolic weight. Fruit for this wine is sourced from vineyards owned by the Bellora, Lignana and Viglino families. Production for Muncagota in this vintage is 11,157 bottles.
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Wine & Spirits
Muncagota’s southeast-facing slopes yielded an exciting wine in the balanced 2016 vintage. Its red-cherry and raspberry flavors are tangy and precise, drawn out by vibrant acidity as the wine takes on notes of licorice and soft herbs. The freshness and clarity of fruit make the wine so enticing now, yet it’s destined to give even more with time in the cellar. As one of our tasters noted, this is everything you want from a Riserva in a good vintage.
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Wine Spectator
Balsamic notes of juniper, eucalyptus and pine align with floral, cherry and black currant flavors in this supple, well-structured red. Balanced and long, with a lingering aftertaste of rose, cherry and mineral.
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.