Piemonte (Barolo & Barbaresco) tasting (at my home): Color: Deep garnet with a brick-red hue. Nose: Complex aromas of dried cherry, plum, licorice, tobacco, and leather. Palate: Full-bodied with firm tannins and a long, lingering finish. Overall: A powerful and elegant wine with great aging potential. Here are some additional details about the wine: The wine is full-bodied and powerful, with firm tannins and a long, lingering finish. It has complex aromas of dried cherry, plum, licorice, tobacco, and leather. The wine is still young and needs some time to age, but it has great potential and will only improve with time. Requires few hours of air.
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Decanted an hour before trying, got even better over next 2 hrs. Still quite young still IMO, tannins well integrated but acidic edge still sharp. Amazing flavors. No rush.
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Really nice wine IMHO in a perfect drinking spot right now. Bottle was opened 2 hours earlier and decanted for 1 hour before consumption during next 2-3 hours. Beautiful nose and nicely integrated tannins. evolved nicely during consumption.
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Big wine - needs air and time. Tons of menthol when first opened but that blew off after an hour There is still a lot of heat/alcohol on the nose. Dark fruits, eucalyptus, and violet. More spice on the nose than the palet. Heavy and slightly viscous. Medium tannins are well integrated but present. It needs more time to resolve the alcohol, still a bit too hot and rough.
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More old world side of things. Balsamic, herbs, leather and smoked ham rather than fruits. Tart and somewhat edgy, but has some character. Drink with a good decant or hold.
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Drank over few hours. Drank in Gabriel Standart. Agree with SLAZ - this seems younger than 2006 - Extra slow in its evolution. Appearance is clear, pale intensity, ruby colour. Legs. Nose is clean, medium intensity, with aromas of bright red cherries, red licorice, woody spice, stony minerality, menthol, fresh meat. Developing. On the palate, dry, high acidity, high alcohol (14.5%), super high grippy tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of sour red cherries, tart cherry plums, red licorice, stony minerality, cool menthol herbs, woody spices, thyme, emerging leathery meat. Very long tannic finish. Very good quality. Lots of depth and complexity within. Really built to age. Haha maybe a little too solid. Better with lots of air on day 2. From the Rabajà cru in the commune of Barbaresco.
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Extra slow in its evolution (tasted prior bottle in 8/2016). Took some hours of decanting for delightful complexity and tertiary notes to emerge. Monolithic and dense, overall, in need of more years of cellaring to reach its peak.
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Drank at dinner after double decant and 20mins. It still took until well through the dinner for the menthol overtones to blow off. Strikingly Young and tannic, wait a few years and then give more air.
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Not that generous. Firm and distinct, stealy structure, still young, refuses to open up. Medicinal notes, red berries. New and young Slavonian bottis. Extreme acidity. Keep in cellar.
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Gorgeous brownish-blood hue. Nose of cotton candy, red apple skin, plastic pool toy, young violet, eucalyptus, more minerals than earth. Palate is intense: tart berry fruits, fruit snacks, more earth than minerals. Tannins still throwing their weight around but I'm not complaining..
Beautiful, pure, balanced nebbiolo. Very complex.
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With Lionel and Rachel at home, celebrating Nat's birthday. Lovely stuff, this brought me right back to the young bottle we had when visiting at Cortese some 3 years back. While it was rather tight and unyielding at first, it bloomed nicely after a couple of hours in the decanter to show a very nice glimpse long-term potential. On the nose, pretty notes of dark cherries and red berries, rose petals, and then gentle spice and herb notes floated out with a touch of tarry smokiness. A really nice expression of Babaresco. The palate was just as I remembered it - as silky and elegant a young Nebbiolo as I have ever had. The tannins and acidty was still there, but the structure was so fine, almost lacy and filigreed, as it worked its way through fresh, open flavours of dark cherries and red berries, all glowing with a transparent purity. A little complexity was just starting to show up beyond the midpalate, with notes of herb and mineral, some savoury earth and meat, and just a blush of warm spice taking the wine into a gentle finish. It is not a powerful blockbuster, but this was a beautifully poised, balanced wine - this was absolutely enjoyable even in its youth. I think it should age gracefully for at least a decade or more yet as well.
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Lots of bright acidity and energetic tannins. Most likely still young, as even after 4 hours of decanting, the depth and complexity did not fully emerge. Fleeting notes of thyme, plum, and sour cherries.
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Tasted amongst older Barbarescos and Barolos and it showed. Comparitively huge, with great fruit/tannin balance. Would love to still have one of these in 10 or 15 years.
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Dried fruits & unusual spices. After 3 hours of decanting changed to ripe black berries & buckthorn. Bright and dense. Elegant young, excellent stuff, good potential ����
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Delicious wine. Quite different from the regular Rabaja bottles: less space for cherry/raspberry but considerably more structure in return - and the regular Rabaja is already nicely layered. Earth, mushrooms, sour cherries, bay leaves, well developed tannins, great balance despite (or thanks to) many layers of impressions. I prefer 2006 over 2001 which showed more alcohol if i remember well.
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Tannin is quite dominant and allready starting to dry out. Fullbodied, cherries and some woody aromas. The wine must have been good in its youth, but the fruit is not enogh to balance out the massive tannins and barrel elevation, quite disappointing.
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Aromatically very complex: exotic spices, black tea leaves, forrest floor, beautiful dark berries, floralness, maby some hints of truffel as well. Many layers. Mouthfeel is incredibly powerfull and intense; electrifying the complete palate. Delicious sweet and sour dark berries, earthy notes, spices, menthol, tar. Strong, but polished tannins, good accidity. Long aftertaste, leaving you gravitating for more. Addictively delicious wine. Despite all the power, this is very drinkable, but will last for ages, and develop. One of the best Barbarescos I`ve had in a while
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Piedmont 2013, Day 3 - Visit to Giuseppe Cortese (Rabajà, Babaresco, Piedmont, Italy): When first popped, this was a bit reductive and very reticent, especially on the nose which only slowly opened up in the glass to show a wonderful nose of orange peel, rose petals and dark cherries riding on a nice savoury backdrop of earth and meaty note, with a little curl of spice at the sides. When it got going though, this was a reall deep, complex bouquet – just lovely. The palate clearly had a lot of quality to it, but it unfortunately never opened up in the same way that the nose did, remaining very tight throughout. What it did show though was a nicely mouthfilling attack, full of subtle floral notes, with rather subdued, but crystal-clear flavours of red cherries and clean berry tones. I just loved the feel of this wine, super pure, transparent carrying depth without weight, with wonderfully integrated acidity and lithe tannins undergirding the whole palate, coating the teeth slightly just to remind you that they were there. It had a superb finish too – fine and lacy in spite of the grip the tannins had, with red fruit and earth and spice dancing away gracefully. Still super tight, still not showing much, so that the straight 2006 was easily the more enjoyable wine on the day, but this will be a great in a couple of decades. 93+
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2/1/2024 - Yagil wrote: 91 Points
Piemonte (Barolo & Barbaresco) tasting (at my home): Color: Deep garnet with a brick-red hue.
Nose: Complex aromas of dried cherry, plum, licorice, tobacco, and leather.
Palate: Full-bodied with firm tannins and a long, lingering finish.
Overall: A powerful and elegant wine with great aging potential.
Here are some additional details about the wine:
The wine is full-bodied and powerful, with firm tannins and a long, lingering finish. It has complex aromas of dried cherry, plum, licorice, tobacco, and leather. The wine is still young and needs some time to age, but it has great potential and will only improve with time.
Requires few hours of air.
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3/28/2023 - JGinMO wrote: 93 Points
Decanted an hour before trying, got even better over next 2 hrs. Still quite young still IMO, tannins well integrated but acidic edge still sharp. Amazing flavors. No rush.
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1/22/2022 - matt.gordon5000 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Beautiful. Drinking nicely now, but has plenty of room to grow. Give it a few hours to breathe, after 3 it still got better throughout the night.
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3/13/2021 - Lemmy-W Likes this wine: 93 Points
Really nice wine IMHO in a perfect drinking spot right now. Bottle was opened 2 hours earlier and decanted for 1 hour before consumption during next 2-3 hours. Beautiful nose and nicely integrated tannins. evolved nicely during consumption.
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2/6/2021 - asparagus Likes this wine: 92 Points
Slow oxed for 3 hours before serving - i felt that this was more ready than the 01 or 04 which I had recently.
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11/26/2020 - vinorsk Likes this wine: 91 Points
Big wine - needs air and time. Tons of menthol when first opened but that blew off after an hour
There is still a lot of heat/alcohol on the nose. Dark fruits, eucalyptus, and violet. More spice on the nose than the palet. Heavy and slightly viscous. Medium tannins are well integrated but present. It needs more time to resolve the alcohol, still a bit too hot and rough.
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11/1/2020 - sfqwino Likes this wine: 91 Points
More old world side of things. Balsamic, herbs, leather and smoked ham rather than fruits. Tart and somewhat edgy, but has some character. Drink with a good decant or hold.
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4/23/2020 - Derek Darth Taster wrote: 93 Points
Drank over few hours. Drank in Gabriel Standart. Agree with SLAZ - this seems younger than 2006 - Extra slow in its evolution.
Appearance is clear, pale intensity, ruby colour. Legs.
Nose is clean, medium intensity, with aromas of bright red cherries, red licorice, woody spice, stony minerality, menthol, fresh meat. Developing.
On the palate, dry, high acidity, high alcohol (14.5%), super high grippy tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of sour red cherries, tart cherry plums, red licorice, stony minerality, cool menthol herbs, woody spices, thyme, emerging leathery meat. Very long tannic finish.
Very good quality. Lots of depth and complexity within. Really built to age. Haha maybe a little too solid. Better with lots of air on day 2.
From the Rabajà cru in the commune of Barbaresco.
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9/22/2019 - Slaz Likes this wine: 93 Points
Extra slow in its evolution (tasted prior bottle in 8/2016). Took some hours of decanting for delightful complexity and tertiary notes to emerge. Monolithic and dense, overall, in need of more years of cellaring to reach its peak.
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12/2/2017 - JGinMO wrote: 92 Points
Drank at dinner after double decant and 20mins. It still took until well through the dinner for the menthol overtones to blow off. Strikingly Young and tannic, wait a few years and then give more air.
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6/9/2017 - Markus IWC wrote: 91 Points
Not that generous. Firm and distinct, stealy structure, still young, refuses to open up. Medicinal notes, red berries. New and young Slavonian bottis. Extreme acidity. Keep in cellar.
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5/4/2017 - crplaia Likes this wine: 93 Points
Gorgeous brownish-blood hue. Nose of cotton candy, red apple skin, plastic pool toy, young violet, eucalyptus, more minerals than earth. Palate is intense: tart berry fruits, fruit snacks, more earth than minerals. Tannins still throwing their weight around but I'm not complaining..
Beautiful, pure, balanced nebbiolo. Very complex.
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9/6/2016 - Paul S wrote: 93 Points
With Lionel and Rachel at home, celebrating Nat's birthday. Lovely stuff, this brought me right back to the young bottle we had when visiting at Cortese some 3 years back. While it was rather tight and unyielding at first, it bloomed nicely after a couple of hours in the decanter to show a very nice glimpse long-term potential. On the nose, pretty notes of dark cherries and red berries, rose petals, and then gentle spice and herb notes floated out with a touch of tarry smokiness. A really nice expression of Babaresco. The palate was just as I remembered it - as silky and elegant a young Nebbiolo as I have ever had. The tannins and acidty was still there, but the structure was so fine, almost lacy and filigreed, as it worked its way through fresh, open flavours of dark cherries and red berries, all glowing with a transparent purity. A little complexity was just starting to show up beyond the midpalate, with notes of herb and mineral, some savoury earth and meat, and just a blush of warm spice taking the wine into a gentle finish. It is not a powerful blockbuster, but this was a beautifully poised, balanced wine - this was absolutely enjoyable even in its youth. I think it should age gracefully for at least a decade or more yet as well.
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8/14/2016 - Slaz wrote:
Lots of bright acidity and energetic tannins. Most likely still young, as even after 4 hours of decanting, the depth and complexity did not fully emerge. Fleeting notes of thyme, plum, and sour cherries.
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7/1/2016 - JGinMO wrote: 93 Points
Tasted amongst older Barbarescos and Barolos and it showed. Comparitively huge, with great fruit/tannin balance. Would love to still have one of these in 10 or 15 years.
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6/13/2016 - TrueLoker Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dried fruits & unusual spices. After 3 hours of decanting changed to ripe black berries & buckthorn. Bright and dense. Elegant young, excellent stuff, good potential ����
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5/6/2016 - Jasper Hofman Likes this wine: 93 Points
Delicious wine. Quite different from the regular Rabaja bottles: less space for cherry/raspberry but considerably more structure in return - and the regular Rabaja is already nicely layered. Earth, mushrooms, sour cherries, bay leaves, well developed tannins, great balance despite (or thanks to) many layers of impressions. I prefer 2006 over 2001 which showed more alcohol if i remember well.
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4/24/2016 - Tavastgatan wrote: 89 Points
This is very pure with clean sharp acidity. Quitet tannic still as most from this vintages. Too young, but I still miss something here for this level.
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4/19/2016 - JGinMO wrote: 93 Points
Very balanced, with good nebbiolo fruit and slight acidic edge. No sign of decline to my taste.
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4/15/2015 - Klugi Wine wrote: 90 Points
Tannin is quite dominant and allready starting to dry out. Fullbodied, cherries and some woody aromas. The wine must have been good in its youth, but the fruit is not enogh to balance out the massive tannins and barrel elevation, quite disappointing.
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1/8/2015 - Barolo Drunkard Likes this wine: 94 Points
Aromatically very complex: exotic spices, black tea leaves, forrest floor, beautiful dark berries, floralness, maby some hints of truffel as well. Many layers.
Mouthfeel is incredibly powerfull and intense; electrifying the complete palate. Delicious sweet and sour dark berries, earthy notes, spices, menthol, tar. Strong, but polished tannins, good accidity. Long aftertaste, leaving you gravitating for more. Addictively delicious wine. Despite all the power, this is very drinkable, but will last for ages, and develop.
One of the best Barbarescos I`ve had in a while
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11/12/2014 - Yagil wrote: 92 Points
Giuseppe Cortese winery visit (Barbaresco): transparent dark red-brown, fresh fruity-earthy aroma, full bodied, grip tannins, savoury flavours, light spices, oak-vanilla, complex & elegant, ready to enjoy. Pleasnt med length finish.
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6/21/2014 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine: 90 Points
Great barbaresco, drinkable but still very young / excellent fruit and rather strict structure.
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6/19/2013 - Paul S wrote: 93 Points
Piedmont 2013, Day 3 - Visit to Giuseppe Cortese (Rabajà, Babaresco, Piedmont, Italy): When first popped, this was a bit reductive and very reticent, especially on the nose which only slowly opened up in the glass to show a wonderful nose of orange peel, rose petals and dark cherries riding on a nice savoury backdrop of earth and meaty note, with a little curl of spice at the sides. When it got going though, this was a reall deep, complex bouquet – just lovely. The palate clearly had a lot of quality to it, but it unfortunately never opened up in the same way that the nose did, remaining very tight throughout. What it did show though was a nicely mouthfilling attack, full of subtle floral notes, with rather subdued, but crystal-clear flavours of red cherries and clean berry tones. I just loved the feel of this wine, super pure, transparent carrying depth without weight, with wonderfully integrated acidity and lithe tannins undergirding the whole palate, coating the teeth slightly just to remind you that they were there. It had a superb finish too – fine and lacy in spite of the grip the tannins had, with red fruit and earth and spice dancing away gracefully. Still super tight, still not showing much, so that the straight 2006 was easily the more enjoyable wine on the day, but this will be a great in a couple of decades. 93+
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