Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
There's very pure fruit on the nose, with blackberry, blueberry and fresh flowers. Full-bodied, with firm yet silky tannins and a long, caressing finish. Best after 2011. 3,750 cases made.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Prunotto's 2005 Barbaresco is simply beautiful and quite classic. Menthol, pine, spices, toasted oak and dark fruit are just some of the nuances in this graceful wine. Soft- textured and generous on the palate, this Barbaresco possesses outstanding balance and class to spare. The estate's Barbaresco is aged in cask. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2020.
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Wine Enthusiast
This vintage of Prunotto's bold Barbaresco delivers warm notes of mature blackberry, milk chocolate, luscious raspberry and cinnamon spice. There are also delicate background shadings of pipe tobacco, ash and natural rubber and the wine closes with a voluptuous, velvety feel and chewy finish.
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.