Nebbiolo Prima 2023
What’s in a vintage? If we are talking about 2020 Barbaresco there is so much to say because these are a group of nebbiolo that meet at the crossroads of variability, complexity, multiplicity and whimsy. At their finest the ’20s are a textural bunch, suave and sensorial because of high levels of glycerol and unctuousness. If there is density it’s of an elastic, chewy, often leathery and pliable kind. Many examples reach levels that heighten awareness and elicit deeper understanding of what it means to be Barbaresco. The best are the sort that exhibit experience, acumen, stage presence and when appropriate, also ambition. Top end Barbaresco are varietal distillate expressions of cru, soil, vintage and maker. Wines that finish with dignified tannins, often sweet ones that carry forward from nearly identical vintage acidities. Anyone will tell you that nebbiolo of this world are marked from the get-out, before they are bottled. Not all the 2020 Barbaresco can be credited as being exceptional but there are many worthy of kind and even reverential praise.
Related – Nebbiolo Prima Previews: Barolo DOCG 2019, Barolo Riserva DOCG 2017 and Retrospectives
While it is said that as a rule the wines of Barbaresco drink earlier than those of Barolo, the fact of the matter is they are bottled earlier and a more recent vintage is presented at each anteprima. It must also be explained that Barolo’s tannins are never sneaky, more like in your face but those from Barbaresco can lurk beneath the surface, pounce when you least expect them and in some cases create nebbiolo of longevity that rival Barolo. This is one of the fascinations about Barbaresco, especially when tasted blind and young, because a taster is made to concentrate, focus and try to determine if there may just be wily structure laid in hiding inside the fortifications of a wine. Barbaresco is so often a crafty and cunning example of nebbiolo worthy of decades of time in the cellar.
Related – Barbaresco DOCG previews and retrospectives: 2017, Riserva 2015, 2007 and 2005
Barbaresco is so many things. A village, commune and also a set of wines made from nebbiolo grown on the right bank of the Tanaro River, southeast of Alba. The eponymous village is joined by three others, they being Neive and Treiso, plus San Rocco Seno d’Elvio, an outlying district of Alba. In geological terms, the Barbaresco wine growing area is approximately 23 to 5.3 million years old, belonging to the Miocene Epoch of the Tertiary Period. A drone’s view might say the area resembles a horse’s head, or more appropriately a cluster of nebbiolo grapes. In 2020 vine space increased to 783 hectares and for the first time production exceeded five million bottles (5,128,920).
If seeking Barbaresco cru from 2020 with a plan to hold and then drink well five through 15 years forward is the intended search, well then this Grand Crus like Asili, Rabajà and Martinenga will fulfil those hopes and dreams
There can often be depth to nebbiolo of no particular cru affiliation, a.k.a nessuna menzione but also those composed of fruit taken off of several vineyard sources, or what are called più comuni. The communes of Neive, Barbaresco, Treiso and San Rocco Seno d’Elvio each produce different styles of nebbiolo but one thing is certain. Barbaresco wines as a whole are more identifiable than those from Barolo, mainly because the hectarage and diversity of soils are much smaller by comparison. Barbaresco are not younger siblings and while they are cousins they are the cool, hip, intriguing ones full of interest, fantasy and meaning. As for the crus (referred to in the Langhe as menzione), yes there are in fact those considered Grand. The ridge that includes Asili, Rabajà and Martinenga receive the greatest respect. These sites along with Neive’s Santo Stefano and Treiso’s Pajorè are considered the finest vineyards anywhere in the the entirety of the Barbaresco DOCG. For Barbaresco commune the top menzioni have been classified as Pajè, Pora, Asili, Martinenga, Montefico, Montestefano, Muncagota, Rabajà, Rio Sordo, Roncagliette and Secondine. Then there are Albesani, Basarin, Currá, Cottá, Gallina, Santo Stefano and Serraboella from Neive. Out of Treiso the higher mentions have been Bernardot, Bricco di Treiso, Pajorè, Rombone and Vallegrande. For San Rocco Seno d’Elvio; Meruzzano, Montersino, Rizzi (all these are shared with Treiso) and Rocche Massalupo.
Barbaresco and the Langhe
This 27th edition of Nebbiolo Prima took place in Alba back in January of 2023, with thanks to Albeisa and the organization’s President Marina Marcarino, along with Anna Barbon and Linda Foltran of AB Comunicazione. These 2020 Barbarescos are now showing up in the Canadian market and will continue to do so through the early months of 2024. Once again a reminder that not all producers participate in Nebbiolo Prima, for a myriad of reasons and so consider this report as a relevant snapshot of those that did. These 77 tasting notes, which include some older vintages poured that week, tell a vintage story, or at least Godello’s interpretation of it.
Barbaresco DOCG 2020
Alba
Masseria Di Delmonte Pierina Barbaresco DOCG Montersino 2020
Surely top of the pops and tip of the pips ripe fruit, some dry to leathery plum and cedar noes, a mature perfume all in all. Rescued by quality acids and a silky texture. Easy access all the way through with dignified tannins. Early drinking 2020 is the call, perhaps a factor of Montesino’s particular Alba exposure. Drink 2023-2025. Tasted January 2023
Adriano Marco E Vittorio Sanadaive Barbaresco DOCG 2020
Reticent, compact, a bit hard to get. Also some proper nebbiolo volatility straight away. Surprising considering the villages-level cuvée though there is a good chance the fruit source is primarily from one block in a cru. A bit boozy feeling as well and then a repeat on the palate of what the aromas originally dictated. That being taut, weighty and non-disclosed agreements. There is depth to this nebbiolo of nessuna menzione and a year or so will likely release what’s base, right and necessary. Drink 2024-2026. Barrel sample tasted January 2023
Manera Fratelli Barbaresco DOCG Rizzi 2020
Good brightness and specificity of place through quick-ish reveal, that being Rizzi from the commune of Alba and a nebbiolo that scents as one would 100 per cent expect. Rose petals, sweetly perfumed, almost candied and expressive, surprisingly early it should be noted. Full and generous palate, tons of fruit without fail or need of hasty retreat, therefore lingering and satisfying. Tannins are sweet as well, acids too. Fine wine though not for long term aging. Drink 2023-2027. Barrel sample tasted January 2023
Barbaresco
Giordano Luigi Giuseppe Barbaresco DOCG Asili 2020
A bit more seriousness here from nebbiolo out of the Asili cru in the commune of Barbaresco. Far from draughty in fact this is a closed, hermetic and locked in environment where the perfumes and volatile compounds swirl in centrifuge. A wine of equally formidable and important structure, tannins persistent, semi-austere and very much in charge of the show. If seeking Barbaresco cru from 2020 with a plan to hold and then drink well five through 15 years forward is the intended search, well then this Asili will fulfil those hopes and dreams. Drink 2026-2034. Tasted January 2023
Giordano Luigi Giuseppe Barbaresco Cavanna 2020
From Cavanna in the commune of Barbaresco and a lithe nebbiolo, quite tisane styled aromas, from Ceylon to Rooibos, in other words also equipped with the kind of tannins that feel seeped as opposed to buffering. An easy and rustic example to be fair, traditional yet accessible, one that won’t solicit suffering and ready as early as you choose. Drink 2023-2025. Tasted January 2023
Culasso Piercarlo Barbaresco DOCG Faset 2020
Faset delivers a higher tonality, not necessarily a brighter iteration but instead the kind of aromatic profile that heightens awareness and also sensation. Move quickly into the textural and structural parts and there is more of the same elevated feels, of unctuousness and glycerol, silky liquidity and organza layering. Here drinks a fine, moving and vintage appropriate nebbiolo, finely tannic, never dense or weighty, always on the upswing. Would wait a couple of years to see the grains melt further and really tie the room together. Drink 2025-2032. Tasted January 2023
Culasso Piercarlo Barbaresco DOCG Faset Duesoli 2020
Different sort of aromatic profile here from Faset in Barbaresco, an almost gummy to plum-stick profile from start to finish. There is this disparate feeling ascertained, from sweet aromatics through to grainy tannins and a tacky profile in between. Nothing totally wrong and yet nothing quite right. Dries out at the finish and those tannins are all that remain. Drink 2024-2026. Tasted January 2023
Chiarlo Michele Barbaresco DOCG Faset 2020
Strong mocker aromas straight off the dense top of this Faset Barbaresco, fulsome, cumbersome and like a heavy cloud looming overhead. Quite a macerated plum note, not sweetly cloying but rather savoury, heady and weighty. Serious wine fully pressed, extracted and pulled from itself, dragging all the weight of the world while it carries this magnitude of fruit and tannin. Seems to seek the modern but can’t help bring all the rusticity and traditional ways along for the ride. Drink 2024-2028. Tasted January 2023
Tenute Cisa Asinari Dei Marchesi Di Gresy Barbaresco DOCG Martinenga 2020
Perfectly, beautifully and candidly simple but lithe, ripe, really elegant nebbiolo. Perfumes are intoxicants. Well-rounded and surprisingly easy to access. Drink 2024-2029. Barrel sample tasted January 2023
Cascina Morassino Di Bianco Roberto Barbaresco DOCG 2020
Reductive as can be with seriously austere tannins and and nearly inaccessible as any Barbaresco 2020 you are likely to encounter. Just a wall of tannin with angular and angry notes, clearly built to age but even the micro-oxygenation of time in bottle under cork won’t happen fast enough. Not before what little fruit there is dies off well ahead of intended schedule. Drink 2025-2027. Tasted January 2023
Giacosa Carlo Di Giacosa Mariagrazia Barbaresco DOCG 2020
Classic and traditional, sweetly rustic and old-school nebbiolo with no real invitation to specificity of place. A cuvée that speaks to a half century of making Barbaresco from these hills by combing fruit from several blocks to speak in a broad local vernacular. Austerity and demand of tannins are just what to expect and a long life where dried herbs, green notes and waning fruit will always be the way. Drink 2024-2028. Tasted January 2023
Giacosa Carlo Di Giacosa Mariagrazia Barbaresco DOCG Montefico 2020
Full attack from a well-grounded cuvée that speaks in modern terms though not without well-pressed fruit dragging all the acids, tannins, elements and minerals along for the ride. A serious chemical compound of complexities await in a nebbiolo of no particularly focused origin. At one crunchy, like trying to bite through stones and then chewy, leathery textures, of liquorice and animal hides. Tannins build and build. Drink 2024-2030. Tasted January 2023
Moccagatta Barbaresco DOCG Bric Balin 2020
Über cherry nebbiolo, suave yet tannic, inviting but admittedly intense. High tonality with some swarthiness though not overt and full fruit glycerin slide across the palate. A Barbaresco of density if the kind that is elastic, snapping back without too much recoil by force. Solid wine, mid to longer aging potential and a truly good example of the vintage. Drink 2024-2028. Tasted January 2023
Castello di Verduno Barbaresco DOCG 2020
Gone for broke, ripe to the nth degree nebbiolo, pressed and excited to show what it’s got. A Barbaresco villages appellative wine, almost a syrupy swirl of perfume, of plums and black cherries, evergreen and mint. Some varnish as well so you can really feel the skin-contact macerate juices swelling and then come the tannins, marching in, connected on a chain, one by one. Barbaresco of command, on the move, attack mode, restless and ruthless. Drink 2025-2030. Tasted January 2023
Cascina Morassino di Bianco Roberto Barbaresco DOCG Ovello 2020
A pinpointed Barbaresco with fruit selected from the Ovello cru, taut and closed nose, of strong grip and while this youthful it is yet to relent. One taste and you know this is a serious glass of nebbiolo because the integration or rather the seamlessness of fruit and structure is so readily apparent. Strong tannic presence yet one that lifts, supports and holds up the whole so that it may walk a fine linear path and that should last for a decade or more. Impressive wine, far too youthful to fully appreciate but the beauty lays ahead. Drink 2025-2032. Tasted January 2023
Musso di Musso Emanuele Barbaresco DOCG 2020
Fine Nebbiolo swirl of perfumed floral fruit here from the Pora MGA, surely indicative of vintage from which attempting less will ultimately add to more. Hard not to imagine 2020 as sharing some affinity with 2000, misunderstood in youth and then exhibiting greatness 10-plus years into its tenure. This just strikes as one of those wines, chewy enough of texture while perfectly taut and elastic, bending but never breaking. Would really like to see this wine in 10 years time. Drink 2025-2035. Tasted January 2023
Cascina Luisin Barbaresco DOCG 2020
Really light and effusive 2020 Nebbiolo, fine floral scents, white roses in a way and a mildly tart push of raspberry. Pretty and elegant wine at first but their is a silkiness to the mouthfeel, albeit once again on the faint and lithe side of Barbaresco. There are tannins however and a notable cask component. It’s a tricky wine, sneaky even and may flesh out to bigger surprises down the road. Drink 2025-2030. Tasted January 2023
Musso di Musso Emanuele Barbaresco DOCG 2020
Curious if enticing nose of nebbiolo, spiced to the nines with the wood playing an integral part of development. From the Rio Sordo cru in Barbaresco commune and the more you nose this 2020 the more you will receive. Plenty off fleshy berry to plum fruit and more spice, if also spiciness that really directs the way this drinks. A modern wine with more than ample tannins. Drink 2025-2033. Tasted January 2023
Poderi Colla Barbaresco DOCG 2020
A fulsome nebbiolo is all respects from Roncaglie in Barbaresco, open and ready to be expressive of a vintage that may be on the lighter side but shows no lack of typically deduced tradition. Would never go so far as to call this a modern nebbiolo but it surely would like to announce its arrival in the olfactory and also on your palate. So much to go on with a nebbiolo of this ilk and structurally speaking the first four to six years will be the best. Drink 2024-2028. Tasted January 2023
Albino Rocca Barbaresco DOCG 2020
Full attack if somewhat closed and unforgiving in Barbaresco indicative of the Ronchi cru. An aromatic front of more breadth than most out of 2020 with well-pressed and macerated fruit, a gentle swarthiness and then more acidity and tannin above all else aboard the weighty palate. The fruit is a party in the front while the tannins are long-haired and wispy in the back. Out of fashion nebbiolo, earthy and rustic despite all that up front fruit. Drink 2024-2026. Tasted January 2023
Neive
Antichi Poderi dei Gallina di Francone Marco Barbaresco DOCG Albesani 2020
Darker than most as far as 2020 nebbiolo go, a concern of place which is Albesani cru in Neive and the decision to press form success. Boozy nose it feels, yet elemental too, like smelling metal filaments, magnesium and iron mainly. Perhaps a ferric soil, redder earth than some other hills and so the wine is an expression of place after all. Quality Barbaresco in any case, balanced and truthful, exacting as needs to be from the location it was born. Kudos for that and with tannins in effect though never overbearing in any shape or form. Drink 2024-2027. Tasted January 2023
Castello di Neive Barbaresco DOCG Vigna Santo Stefano Albesani 2020
The second of two Albesani cru nebbioli is nearly an exact copy of the first, dark of fruit though here in black cherry that is really quite an obvious aromatic fruit expression. Smoother and silkier than its counterpart yet with much higher acidity and not quite as suave tannin. More energy and drive this time while less elegance defining the character of the wine. Drink 2024-2026. Tasted January 2023
Adriano Marco e Vittorio Barbaresco DOCG Basarin 2020
Wealth of constituent parts emit with haste, gregariousness and also attentive demand from this Basarin. ’Tis a wine that stands and opens up to be heard but also paid immediate attention. Carries some volatility in its voice and while there is fruit but also tension there may be no getting rid of that high and mighty tonality. Plenty of herbal earthiness, strong bones and drying at the finish. Drink 2025-2028. Barrel sample tasted January 2023
Cascina Luisin Barbaresco DOCG Vecchie Viti Basarin 2020
Lighter style or perhaps a hands-off, naturally leaning, let it ride approach by a winemaker wishing to seek purity, honesty and cru definability. This from Basarin is beautifully elegant and proper nebbiolo that should never be referred to as “light.” The aromatics are equally handsome while the wine flexes muscles and is yet nimble, agile and sleek. A fine specimen in all regards with a knowable and confident glide. Complex and characterful without needing to attract attention. Lovely wine. Drink 2025-2032. Tasted January 2023
Fontanabianca Barbaresco DOCG Bordini 2020
Nebbiolo from Bordini cru is hard and brittle, tannins that is with simple fruit that will never keep up with the demand. Already drying out as we taste and speak about the prospects. Drink 2023-2024. Tasted January 2023.
Cascina Vano di Rivetti Bruno Barbaresco DOCG 2020 Canova
Intensity of acidity and tannin supersede the fruit in this Canova cru nebbiolo. Earthy and dry though there is some charm. Tart and really compact so give it three to four years. Perhaps it will open like a flower. Perhaps not. Drink 2026-2028. Tasted January 2023
Cascina Saria Di Abbruzzo Francesco Barbaresco DOCG Colle Del Gelso Canova 2020
Early earthy, volatile and syrupy from the aromatics all glycerin inflected with soy, wood and baking spice. Hard tannins and a wave off vanilla mark this wine of barrel and more barrel. Drink 2024-2026. Barrel sample tasted January 2023
Albino Rocca Barbaresco DOCG Cotta’ 2020
The cru Cottà delivers a fine and typical Nebbiolo from 2020 with fruity aromas and good vocal acidity. Chewy red fruit in tart raspberry meets somewhat dusty plum make this getable yet not overly excitable. A crunchy mineral example that is notably tannic but five years should solve all issues and see this drink with Barbaresco excellence. Drink 2026-2033. Tasted January 2023
Taverna Roberto Barbaresco DOCG Senteùndes Cotta’ 2020
Quite up front, gone for it nebbiolo, fruit spent before it’s even entered the glass and tannins hard, brittle, not so very inviting. Notable presence of Brettanomyces. Aromas and flavours are all wood. Tasted January 2023
Roberto Sarotto di Cavallotto Aurora Barbaresco DOCG Gaia Principe 2020
So much of everything off the top, fruit, glycerin and tannin coming from all directions. This is a nebiolo predicated on elévage that much is abundantly clear with a wave of vanilla that speaks louder than varietal words or the Gaia Principe location. Needs time and there is some fleshy-pulpy substance to see this Neive commune nebbiolo gain some status. Drink 2026-2029. Tasted January 2023
Negro Giuseppe di Negro Piergiorgio Barbaresco DOCG Gallina 2020
Fine lines define this linear and upright Gallina cru nebbiolo of all parts registered to play a significant role through a long life of development. Plenty of fruit substance will hold well while the structure abates and abides as it manages a pact with the aforementioned fruit. Really solid Neive Barbaresco that will gain traction slowly and surely over ten years time. Drink 2025-2034. Tasted January 2023
Poderi e Cantine Oddero Barbaresco DOCG Gallina 2020
Some formaggi on the nose of this nebbiolo and a strong tannic presence for a Gallina that’s not showing much love in these beginning stages. Lots of acidity and intensity but really quite rustic and this will not change. Time is the matter and there may just be some beauty behind the brawn Drink 2025-2029. Tasted January 2023
Pelissero Pasquale Barbaresco DOCG Cascina Crosa 2020
Fruity, elegant and simple though as always there is a string of strong tannins matched by a tonic and bitter presence. Dusty and earthy nebbiolo, nothing truly specified in terms of cru or location and carrying the overall feel of a traditional wine. Drink 2025-2028. Tasted January 2023
Bera Barbaresco DOCG Serraboella 2020
High-toned, of red fruit and notable tang, somewhat sour gummy and though it looks to be light there is a strong presence of barrel on this nebbiolo. Tannins creep up quite quickly and though they are demanding there is an accord struck in a composite to complimentary village level way. Quite a solid Neive example. Drink 2024-2028. Barrel sample tasted January 2023
Cordara Ornella Barbaresco DOCG Tufo Blù 2020
Reductive and also acetic, with capers and dill, wood spice and hopeful red berry fruit. Liquid chalky and tannic but the minor faults add up to major distraction. Drink 2024-2025. Tasted January 2023
Taverna Roberto Barbaresco DOCG Duicrü 2020
Major amount of shoe polish and strange varnish notes indicate a problematic wine. Hopefully just this bottle but there is not much recourse in a blind tasting. Drink 2024. Tasted January 2023
Pietro Rinaldi Barbaresco DOCG San Cristoforo 2020
Acetic and reductive off the top, not egregiously so but these elements are there. More of the latter so giving this nebbiolo a fair agitate swirl to reveal some quality fruit behind the swarthy veil. Dark black cherry and the stone, a definite mineral presence and hard tannins come up the rear for this cru example out of Neive’s San Cristoforo. Tough and gritty wine needing time, a whole lot of precious time. Drink 2026-2030. Tasted January 2023
Pelissero Pasquale Barbaresco DOCG Bricco San Giuliano 2020
From San Giuliano in Neive and a nebbiolo of darker red fruit though quite effusive to nose. Good aromatic profile from which violets and also blue fruits join the mix. These are quality tannins as well as acidity which is well matched to the overall profile. Will benefit from a year or so in bottle to soften the edges, integrate the oxygenating cask workings and bring all the parts together. Drink 2026-2032. Tasted January 2023
Fontanabianca Barbaresco DOCG Serraboella 2020
More than enticing Serraboella aromatics emit and grab attention for a nebbiolo that’s worth knowing. Glycerin all the way through though never drifting into sap, resin or syrup. All three in faint hints are fine and their mentions are in this Neive’s character but yes, subtlety is the name of the game. A fine floral addendum and then proper mouthfeel while tannins are stronger than might have been anticipated. A most commanding wine with stage presence and a great idea of what it desires but also choose to become. Drink 2025-2033. Tasted January 2023
Paitin di Pasquero-Elia Barbaresco DOCG Serraboella 2020
Some reductive and stemmy behaviour. Lively and lovely Serraboella aromatics fly out of the glass from this nebbiolo to create great anticipation for what else is to come. Seems and feels like a wine of experience, acumen and proper ambition. Just what the doctor orders in healthy, clean living by fruit that’s been raised in all the right ways. Pure varietal distillate that expresses cru, soil, vintage and maker with equal, four part-symbiotic stability and equal footing for all. Top, top Barbaresco for the vintage. Drink 2025-2036. Tasted January 2023
Collina Serragrilli Barbaresco DOCG Starderi 2020
Quite classic, rustic earthy and yet vintage fruity so in the end we’d expect this to land somewhere in between. Tart red fruit and fine acidity – a lighting strike kind of nebbiolo that should indicate lighter white or grey clay and fine sandy quality of soil. High in mineral as well. Starderi? Really tight and compact wine, far from generous and some might see it as tenebrous. Seems proper and honest from this point of view. Drink 2025-2028. Tasted January 2023
Treiso
Cantina del Nebbiolo Barbaresco DOCG 2020
Stems and a volatility define the first impression for a Barbaresco that draws fruit from at least two communes. Somewhat simple and rounded with the least demanding tannins around. Think of nebbiolo and while it qualifies as Barbaresco the wine should be consumed in its first two years. Drink 2023-2025. Tasted January 2023
Masseria di Delmonte Pierina Barbaresco DOCG Mon Sertù 2020
From a few commune’s fruit and a well rounded nebbiolo at that with stuffing in a most generous sort of way. Some sap and glycerin though not overt and all is manageable for quality consumption. Does well to speak on behalf of Barbaresco with distinction if not a pinpointed sense of a particular block or cru. Which is fine when a wine does everything well. Represents as a great intro to the appellation and the vintage. Drink 2024-2027. Tasted January 2023
Slightly jammy and also acetic notes, some reduction as well in a broadly accumulated, rendered and interpreted nebbiolo for Barbaresco. Tart and full of tang, drying out already and needing some air. Hard tannins make this somewhat problematic. Drink 2024-2026. Tasted January 2023
Molino Barbaresco DOCG Ausario 2020
Ausario as a cru seems to be a place of solar accumulation as noted by the massive fruit substance emanating from this full on nebbiolo. So much up front but also a liquid chalkiness and definite vanilla swirl by wood with the intention to create a structure wine. A bit too much of these things I’m afraid yet time will see good integration and when the wine settles in it will drink well indeed. Drink 2024-2027. Tasted January 2023
Nada Giuseppe Barbaresco DOCG Casot 2020
Casot delivers fine goods in 2020 from its Treiso cru with a nebbiolo in fine form and especially fashion. The trilogy and trinity of fruit, acid and tannin get on the same page, linear of design, one following the other and then returning back to begin the process over again. Seems to do this on repeat several times before retiring so not only are the parts full of character but their familiarity with one another breeds consistency and length. Fine Casot from a Casot vintage indeed. Drink 2025-2033. Tasted January 2023
Cascina Alberta Barbaresco DOCG Giacone 2020
An upfront, centred and look at me Giacone full of fruit and more fruit. Carries on with Treiso familiarity and quality to deliver a Barbaresco of the times, heady and high-toned. Lots to go on here and tannins quite grippy but there is always some brightness and airiness to this nebbiolo. Crafty if older schooled but that luminosity is quite something. Hard to believe considering the structure of the wine. Drink 2025-2030. Tasted January 2023
Cantina Vignaioli Elvio Pertinace Barbaresco DOCG Marcarini 2020
Marcarini cru brings some baritone to nebbiolo for 2020 and this example expresses the depths of its varietal fruit. Chewy liquorice is indicative of the tannins involved but the fruit keeps pace. Nothing limpid or softy about this one at all in fact it’s grip is both admired and feared. Chewy and it would be hard not to see the great probability for longevity out of this formidable Nebbiolo. Drink 2025-2034. Tasted January 2023
Nada Giuseppe Barbaresco DOCG Marcarini 2020
The second of two Marcarini shares some affinities with the first but they are far from the same wine. This time the combination of swarthiness and swaying texture are at the fore. Definitely not the formidable brood of its counterpart though it does share in the other’s chewy fruit thickened on the palate. Drink 2024-2028. Tasted January 2023
Cantina Vignaioli Elvio Pertinace Barbaresco DOCG Nervo 2020
Nervo delivers a lighter style of nebbiolo for Treiso out of a variable 2020 vintage. That is aromatically speaking and yet the palate is very much a matter of glycerol fruit. Thickens with pectin and therefore both sweetens and fleshes as it airs to receive equally sweet acids and then tannin in the end. There is a bit of vanilla and wood derived elements that distract but overall the quality inherent in this Nervo is impressive. Drink 2025-2030. Tasted January 2023
Molino Barbaresco DOCG Teorema 2020
Basic Treiso nebbiolo without cru affiliation brings accessibility and what we call drink-ability without strings attached. Sweet fruit, raspberry and cherry, good quality tannins and brightness of acidity. A Barbaresco to drink soon and in a the most amenable of ways for three to five years. Drink 2024-2027. Tasted January 2023
Lodali Walter Barbaresco DOCG Rocche Dei 7 Fratelli 2020
Somewhat reductive and so a bit unclear as to where this will go though some beauty is noted on this nebbiolo’s immediate horizon. That and notably grippy tannins so as far as Barbaresco is concerned there must be food involved to truly enjoy this wine. Drink 2024-2026. Tasted January 2023
Bosio Family Estates Belcolle Barbaresco DOCG Pajorè 2020
Light and effusive Pajorè with plenty of pre-introduced oxygenation to make this an open, airy and knowable nebbiolo that surely does well to represent the vintage. A Treiso Barbaresco of quality raised by acumen and on promises for a long and prosperous life. Fine liquidity and stage presence, confidence and what is necessary for grape and place. Tannins are quite fine as well to equip this wine with what in needed, wanted and expected. Drink 2025-2032. Tasted January 2023
Piazzo comm. Armando di Piazzo Marina Barbaresco DOCG Pajorè 2020
Consistently Pajorè in that the upront fruit is the sort of purity and existential lightness though this iteration is a bit more pressed and of a depth as compared to some counterparts. Results in moCascina Vano di Rivetti re flesh and substantial palate presence but also an increase in tannic pressure. More ambition here with cask aging and spices running amok distracts from the purity though the wine is still really quite impressive. Drink 2024-2027. Tasted January 2023
Ada Nada Barbaresco DOCG Elisa Rombone 2020
The first of two from Rombone cru is somewhat reductive and though there is some acetic presence it’s far from over the top. Tart and intense nebbiolo for sure, cool of mint and evergreen. Savoury wine which speaks to the acetic nature though it feels like a coming together will happen and lower the glare. Time will be this nebbiolo’s friend. Drink 2025-2028. Tasted January 2023
Vigneti Luigi Oddero e Figli Barbaresco DOCG Rombone 2020
The second of two from Rombone is the lighter and less aggressive with higher and airy tonality which speaks to this Treiso cru’s DNA. While the other is expressed in a slight acetic way this does not and in fact a settling already seems to have occurred. Liking the parochial nature and the way it just seems so comfortable in its own skin. No lack of intensity here and longevity will surely be probable. Drink 2024-2031. Tasted January 2023
Ada Nada Barbaresco DOCG Valeriano 2020
Soupy or stewed character while also a bit thin and dilute. Quite a simple nebbiolo. Tasted January 2023
Grasso Fratelli Barbaresco DOCG Vallegrande 2020
Fine nebbiolo here from Villagrande with all the fruit and structure up front and no real skeletal backbone to hold up for long. Enjoy this early while so many others take there time to flesh and settle. Drink 2023-2026. Tasted January 2023
Ca’ Del Baio di Grasso Giulio Barbaresco DOCG Vallegrande 2020
As for this second of two Vallegrande there is more compaction and tannin mixed with fruit from the very beginning. Also a thickening and a pectin influence to give a strawberry and raspberry confection though one with plenty of savour in the mix. Chalky as well, a lactic feeling and then those tannins of great grip and drying force. This nebbiolo needs years of time to resolve. Drink 2026-2032. Tasted January 2023
Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 2018
Manera Fratelli Barbaresco Riserva DOCG Rizzi 2018
Indicative of vintage, hot and steamy, a now drying nebbiolo of Rizzi origin so very intense on the nose. Quite mature and evolving with great haste. Sappy and to say this offers effusive enjoyment would be the opposite of what’s really going on. Hard times. Drink 2023-2024. Tasted January 2023
Tenute Cisa Asinari dei Marchesi di Gresy Barbaresco Riserva DOCG Martinenga 2018
Fine nebbiolo aromatics from ’18 Riserva with thanks to Martinegra and a wine that was shown some restraint throughout its early voracious appetitive exercise. Strong tannic presence no doubt while the fruit source turns into ever-fleshing substance. Chewy on the palate and really persistent so ultimately this represents a fine Riserva and likely one of the finer examples to come out of 2018. Drink 2024-2032. Tasted January 2023
Socré Barbaresco Riserva DOCG Roncaglie 2018
From the cru of Roncaglie and a nebbiolo as Barbaresco, from Barbaresco with as many issues as it displays beauty because the lactic tang is equal to the fulsome fruit. A thick and swarthy example that’s both traditional (well, actually antediluvian) and naturally avant-garde at the same time. My goodness what a mess and clash of personalities. Drink 2024-2028. Tasted January 2023
Castello di Neive Barbaresco Riserva DOCG Albesani 2018
High fruit concentration and substantial nebbiolo so apposite to the other ’18 Riservas in this flight and clearly happy to be this way. Carries enough weight and tannin to not only impress but allow the wine to drink well over the coming five too eight years time. Drink 2023-2029. Tasted January 2023
Giacosa Fratelli Barbaresco Riserva DOCG Basarin Vigna Gianmate’ 2018
Still a touch reductive and restrained with unyielding tannin in a nebbiolo that will require another two or three years to drink as it was surely intended to do. Plenty of flesh hangs on these bones so expect Basarin to win in the end. Serious wine, surely a matter of heat by vintage but there will be comfort before too long. Drink 2025-2033. Tasted January 2023
Punset di Marcarino Marina & C. Barbaresco Riserva DOCG San Cristoforo Campo Quadro 2018
Lightest, most transparent and glaringly beautiful of the Barbaresco Riserva with a maturing quality at this stage. Sweetly lactic note, fruit of the brighest reds while settling in because tannins are drying yet of nary a moment that might be considered austere or abrasive. Seriously well made, vintage indicative and in the end, drink up. Drink 2023-2025. Tasted January 2023
Bera Barbaresco DOCG Serraboella 2019
The western cru close to Neive village, exposition to the west, from the lower section at 350m. Planted 15 years ago with the intention to make classic “Villages” Barbaresco but the fruit from 2016 changed the family’s perspective. That vintage was the first cru label and here from the fourth consecutive the refinement time is 24 months in grandi botti, part Slovenian and part Austrian oak. Tannic to be sure yet not quite what you’d call austere. Greatly structured wine and still far from readiness. “That’s the young baby we’re talking about,” says Riccardo. “It’s the cru that surprises me.” Great aromatic presence and fine chalky liquidity running through. Drink 2025-2032. Tasted January 2023
Cascina Vano di Rivetti Bruno Barbaresco DOCG 2019 Canova
“Traditional” vinification for this Neive nebbiolo and put to Grandi Botti (300L size) for two years. Very traditional Barbaresco, quietly aromatic of pretty perfume and in 2019 a lovely, elegant wine. Proof that Vano’s needs an extra year to settle its harder parts and while ’19 remains or persists as tannic they are strong and elastic ones that will continue to effect a positive stance on this Canova. Drink 2023-2026. Tasted January 2023
Culasso Piercarlo Barbaresco DOCG Faset Duesoli 2019
Warmer of Faset’s two parcels on its western flank, southeast exposure at the hill’s base. Top notch red fruit with a unique game swarthiness and so much personality swelling into complexity. Nothing shy or demure here and clearly a vintage that sweats out the eccentricities of Duesoli. Drink 2024-2028. Tasted January 2023
Cerrino is found in Trezzo Tinella close to Treiso which is the commune for this nebbiolo’s fruit. More specifically Meruzzano though the vru won’t show up on the label until the 2021 vintage. From 450m of elevation for a Barbaresdco of somewhat stewed black cherry and stone, balsamic edginess, quality acid and tannin. Drink 2023-2025. Tasted January 2023
Paitin Barbaresco DOCG Sorì Paitin Serraboella 2019
A Barbaresco of soft extraction at 24-26 degrees celsius, some cappello sommerso submerged cap workings, “when we feel we can,” says Luca Pasquero Elia. Aways scarico, meaning the unwanted elements are always left behind to result in a transparent nebbiolo without intensity of colour. “We want to keep the integrity of the skins, as much as possible,” to restrict oxygenation and racking is done only when necessary. Goes to bottle “after the second phase of closure.” Paitin in Barbaresco is a matter of objective over style. Serraboella is most always wanting to be expressive but this 2019 actually is, at least aromatically, of bright red fruit but be reminded how converse this is against the quality of tension in the tannins. Not a nebbiolo of glycerin despite the cappello sommerso‘s effects, because of the combination of two things. Reasonable alcohol and wild yeast strains that don’t induce such texture. The elasticity and balance in this ’19 Serraboella are just exemplary and the elegant notes play early, which is kind of unprecedented. Drink 2024-2032. Tasted January 2023
From Treiso and what will eventually become a cru (Merazzano) labeled Barbaresco. For now it is a super correct and fine example for nebbiolo and the vintage, 25 day fermentation to coax out a gentility. The season was cooler than 2019 and the resulting wine more balanced, elegant and lovely in its held persistence. Right in the vintage window as we speak. Drink 2023-2026. Tasted January 2023
The 2017 is part of a life’s work and now legacy defining Barbaresco by Renatto Vacca of Cantina del Pino who three years ago was lost to the nebbiolo, Barbaresco, Piedmontese and Italian world, but most of all to his adoring family. For now and wishfully forever there is Aldo Vacca of Produttori del Barbaresco who will not just transition but consult in perpetuity to this great estate. In the meantime Renatto’s 2017 Ovello from the Grand Cru vineyard overlooking the Tanaro River is sumptuous, silken textured, fruit maximized and elegance incarnate. Easy to be romantic in this situation but also wistful and somber – yet the wine speaks so clearly and emphatically it’s all that matters at this very moment. These are complete, distinct and forward carrying tannins to take Ovello ’19 deep into this and well further through the next decade. Solo cose belle Cantina del Pino. Drink 2025-2034. Tasted January 2023
Cascina Vano Di Rivetti Bruno Barbaresco Riserva DOCG Pilone Nei Rivetti 2016
From heavy clay soil abutting the hill of Serraboella. Big shouldered nebbiolo, broad and muscular, ancient warrior of Barbaresco. Still expressly tannic after all this time, having spent three years in Botti and another in bottle. Traditional though quite fine and needing two more years to integrate. Drink 2025-2031. Tasted January 2023
Bera Barbaresco Riserva DOCG Rabajà 2015
Rabajà faces southwest and this fruit comes right from the heart, only bottled as Riserva. Vines in and around 40 years of age and three years spent in Grandi Botti. Aromatically you intuit glycerin and as a Barbaresco there is clearly more acumen and experience from plants that first gave this wine life out of the 2011 vintage. Tannins are even more compact than Seraboella, trying to expand but they just keep weighing down and won’t fully relent. Layering of red fruit and they are beautiful layers but each one carries tannin of ilk upon ilk. This is Barbaresco of sapidity as a quotient of acids and pH working in cohorts. The palate attack is quite fantastical. Give this another year. Drink 2024-2033. Tasted January 2023
Paitin Barbaresco DOCG Sorì Paitin Serraboella 2013
Plenty of breezes blow through this vineyard that is easier to farm with far less disease pressure than many. Also one of the first to ripen in the whole of Barbaresco. Allows for more maneuverability to create verticality and the winemaking can encourage some of this style – though form and objective are always the most important matters. The 2013 still shows as a linear nebbiolo with tension unabated while the once austere elements are finally subsiding. Yet it is still a baby, a 14 percent Barbaresco built for longe range aging from fruit drawn off of the steepest part on the long ridge of the Serraboella hill. Sandy soils on the southeastern slope with surrounding woods all conspire to create this slow-evolving, cru-designate wine with ample fruit, structure and trenchant abilities. A marker for Neive. Drink 2023-2028. Tasted January 2023
Bera Barbaresco Riserva DOCG Basarin 2012
Basarin is home to much older vines, upwards of 65 years-old and is one of the steepest vineyards in Barbaresco. A snake of a vineyard and very challenging to work. South exposure, warm for sure and a soil composition higher in chalk than clay but not too dissimilar to Rabajà. Herbaceous notes come from Basarin and “when I was young, every time I went to the tank I had this feeling,” tells Riccardo Bera. The first vintage out of which the tannins are nearly resolved and yet the fruit persists in near whole and perfect freshness. A nebbiolo in wonderful condition and while the vintage was hot there might have been a different result. This is almost, not quite but nearly ready, as far as optimum or perfect windows are concerned. Liquorice here, a touch of tar and well, “most of this job for us is to start with the best grapes you can. The quality is in the vineyard. A good winemaker can keep the 10. A five you cannot fix.” Ten it is. Drink 2023-2032. Tasted January 2023
Good to go!
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Nebbiolo Prima 2023
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