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Red
1996 Giuseppe Cortese Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà
Nebbiolo
- Italy
- Piedmont
- Langhe
- Barbaresco
Label borrowed from 1999
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Community Tasting Notes 29
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Nico P. Likes this wine:
December 25, 2023 - 13.5% Medium red, orange rim. Lifted sweet smelling strawberry, in the mouth tart black cherry silky tannins. 28 years old and still firing on all cylinders. Good stuff. One more bottle no hurry to open.
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melvinyeowq wrote:
October 30, 2022 - Piedmont wines: Similar to the 1999, the wine had a cloudy and bricking appearance. Palate was slightly better with higher acidity and some unresolved tannins that gave grip, but still not as fresh as what I would expect.
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Derek Darth Taster wrote: 93 points
July 20, 2021 - 1996 Piedmont theme Lunch at Maison Dakota. Tasted blind. Drank in Conterno Sensory.
Appearance is clear, pale intensity, ruby colour with garnet rim. Legs.
Nose medium+ intensity, slight barnyard, other aromas of stony minerality, red plums, leather, tea leaves. Developing.
On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium+ alcohol (13.5%), softened but furry high tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of savoury red plums, sweet red cherries, leather, stony minerality, sweet tea leaves, spices and integrated oak. Very long finish.
Very good quality. This bottle definitely felt like it still has ample gas in the tank. On hindsight, feels like an amped up version (more masculine rather than elegant expression) of the 1996 Giacosa Rabaja in the same tasting. -
Nanda wrote:
September 26, 2020 - 96/99 side by side. ~4 hours of air. Not as ready as the 99, and while good with food, it is a more stern wine than it’s younger counterpart. Needs 5-10 years to soften up.
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tanduybui Likes this wine: 88 points
June 8, 2020 - A very hard wine to rate. Opened 4.5 hours before consumption and I am still deciding whether this was too short or too long! Nose had hints of dark fruits, cherries and earthiness notes. Palate was a strange mix - acid covered with a light sprinkling of fine tannin and very savoury (plum, tar etc.). One thing I can say for certain is the wine needs food otherwise it is a dull wine. A bit of a brain teaser but make sure you open it early for it to air. Drink now.
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Pro Reviews 1
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By Jon Rimmerman
7/25/2007 (link)(CORTESE Riserva Rabaja Barbaresco) 1996 Barbaresco Riserva Dear Friends, We offered this wine a few years ago and a final library parcel has just been released to us - directly from the cellar, labeled and shipped from Italy solely on your behalf. This is a reference wine of sorts as it was one of the first from what I’ll call the “New Era” that could honestly challenge Giacosa’s reign of the traditional flame in Barbaresco (Gaja and Bruno Rocca are not in the traditional category so we will leave them out). Other entities have performed very well at the high-end Riserva level, including one-off hits by the Produttori, but it was Giuseppe Cortese’s 1996 Rabaja Riserva that had winemakers and collectors in Piedmont with one conclusion - Cortese has ascended to the highest rung. One must wonder what the future holds as Giacosa continues to elevate the oak usage in his wines - will Cortese’s Riserva be the standard? 1996 is one of my favorite vintages of the last 30 years, along with 1978, 1982, 1988, 1989 and 1990 (and to a lesser degree 1999 and 2001) this is the vintage that defined the 1990’s for me with classic structure, definition and the authority that Nebbiolo is famous for. These are wines of a meditative strength that will reward the patient with the splendor that aging fine wine can provide. At age ten, this wine is just starting to come into its own and I couldn’t be more enthused about its potential in the cellar. For the price, this is one of the very best wines produced in Barbaresco in the 1990’s and that is not just my opinion (Giacosa’s non-Riserva 1996 Rabaja is much pricier and it may not be as good as this). A special treat for a future occasion of importance: VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for price relative to others in this class and exemplary quality ONE SHIPMENT ONLY directly from the winery cellar We should have one of the lowest prices in the world on this item: 1996 Cortese Barbaresco Rabaja Riserva Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Italy7720
Wine Definition
- Vintage 1996
- Type Red
- Producer Giuseppe Cortese
- Varietal Nebbiolo
- Designation Riserva
- Vineyard Rabajà
- Country Italy
- Region Piedmont
- SubRegion Langhe
- Appellation Barbaresco
Community Holdings
- Pending Delivery 0 (0%)
- In Cellars 108 (42%)
- Consumed 148 (58%)
Food Pairing
No food pairings available.
Who Likes This Wine
100% Like It 9 votes
More About This Wine
Articles
- ProducerGiuseppe Cortese
- VarietyNebbiolo
- CountryItaly
- RegionPiedmont
- SubRegionLanghe
- AppellationBarbaresco
Add Articles
- Wine1996 Giuseppe Cortese Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà (add)
- FamilyGiuseppe Cortese Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà (add)
- ProducerGiuseppe Cortese
- VarietalNebbiolo
- DesignationRiserva (add)
- VineyardRabajà (add)
- CountryItaly
- RegionPiedmont
- SubRegionLanghe
- AppellationBarbaresco