Winemaker Notes
Pair with fresh egg pastas, risottos, white meats, red meats, venison and cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Rio Sordo cru is known for medium-bodied wines that show elegance and finesse. The 2011 Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo is my favorite wine among this set of new Riserva releases. This gorgeous wine is seamless in approach with balanced aromatic intensity that bridges dark fruit aromas against ethereal notes of cola, tar and licorice. There is an irresistible dash of white truffle buried deep within. The wine is powerful and firmly constructed, but the quality of the tannins is silky and polished.
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Wine Spectator
A fresh, fruity version, this sports cherry, plum, licorice, tar and spice flavors. A salty, minerally element emerges as the firm structure guides the lingering aftertaste. Juicy yet intense.
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James Suckling
A very ripe red with plum, light raisin and spice character. Full-bodied, chewy and tannic.
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.