Winemaker Notes
Pairs well with fresh egg pastas, risottos, white meats, red meats, venison and cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Fragrant, this red reveals rose, strawberry, cherry, white pepper and mineral aromas and flavors. Sleek and elegant, with fine harmony and expression. The firm structure provides definition and drives the lingering finish. Best from 2021 through 2038.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Pajè is one tiny degree darker in color saturation compared to the expression from the Pora vineyard. (I tasted these single-vineyard Riserva wines moving up the intensity gradient in the order suggested by the estate). This wine offers a slightly softer, rounder and richer quality of fruit. On the palate, those red fruit flavors are long lasting and thick in textural richness. This wine is beautiful straight out of the gate.
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Wine Enthusiast
Violet, wild-berry and ground clove aromas take center stage while the mediumbodied palate shows juicy cherry, raspberry compote and star anise. Vibrant acidity and refined tannins provide an elegant framework. Drink 2021–2031.
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.