Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of red berry, tilled earth, menthol and dark cooking spice unfold in the glass. The structured, elegant palate doles out ripe wild cherry, mint, licorice, blood orange and chopped herb alongside firm, fine-grained tannins. It's still tight so let it unwind for a few more years. Drink after 2019.
-
James Suckling
I like the aromas of dried rose petal, plum and cedar. Some stems. Full-bodied, layered and chewy. Needs a year or two to soften: better in 2017.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Barbaresco Cottá shows a slightly subdued personality and a timid approach. The wine is bright, buoyant and brilliant across the board but it delivers its best assets with less intensity compared to the other single-vineyard expressions of Barbaresco produced by Sottimano. Pretty tones of white cherry and forest berry form a smooth union with light spice, mint and cola. This wine should flesh out further with more time in the cellar. The Sottimano family delivers a beautiful set of new releases from the 2012 and 2011 vintages. These wines stand out for the consistency they show across the board. Over the years, this estate has perfected a house style based on feminine grace and elegance. Subtle sensorial differences based solely on cru selection distinguish each wine. Those fascinating individual characteristics will appeal to those who love to taste across the single vineyards of Barbaresco. In fact, Sottimano offers one of the most exciting collection of territory-based expression of Nebbiolo to be found in the appellation.
-
Wine Spectator
A fresh, elegant style, with a firm edge of tannins under the pure cherry, strawberry, floral, spice and leather flavors. The tannins have the upper hand for now, so be patient. Best from 2018 through 2026.
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.