Winemaker Notes
As it is clearly evident in any map of Barbaresco region, Fausoni is just located outside the town of Neive; consequently, the wine is a fine balance of elegance, bouquet and concentration, typical characteristics of this area.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Focused and loaded with finesse, this radiant red opens with enticing scents of rose petal, red berry, violet and camphor. The linear palate boasts a great depth of flavor and extreme elegance, featuring juicy cherry, strawberry compote, licorice and cinnamon framed against taut, refined tannins. Bright acidity keeps gives it precision and superb balance while a hint of espresso lingers on the finish. Best after 2024.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
With fruit from Neive, the 2018 Barbaresco Fausoni is another gorgeous wine from Sottimano. This expression is polished and glossy, showing enormous purity to all the senses. You can get very enthusiastic about this bottle, thanks to the graceful nature of its cassis, dried raspberry and plum-like aromas. These wines from the village of Neive show excellent results in this cooler 2018 vintage.
-
Wine & Spirits
The 2018 Fausoni is mid weight and tautly knit, with a smooth texture and dark cherry flavors that offer hints of espresso, dark chocolate and sweet spice. A note of orange zest energizes the finish.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Barbaresco Fausoni is flush with ripe peach, rose petal, dried strawberry, and white truffle. The structure is lean but inviting, with dried raspberry, orange zest, and dried tea as well as fine tannins. Refreshing and open, this is ready for rather youthful enjoyment. Drink 2021-2034.
-
Wine Spectator
Plum, cherry, eucalyptus, iron and tobacco aromas and flavors combine in this fluid yet firmly structured red, which is intense, lingering with a long aftertaste that echoes the savory elements.
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.