April 12, 2024 - Mature and delicious
October 6, 2023 - JD Friday Wine Group - John C host (City Club FW - Wine Room): Served blind - Deep red in the glass, but transparent. Nose of fresh blended cherries, and very tannic on the palate. The tannins were truly in the way when tasting without food. After a bite of the pork loin that was served, however, the sweet cherry flavors emerged. I was pretty confident it was a young Nebbiolo and called a 2013 barbaresco.
May 26, 2023 - Clear medium light red with some darkening. Black cherry, a nice bit of earthiness, cola, spice and orange peel. Very tasty black cherry and cranberry flavours and a very textured earthy tannic finish.
January 16, 2023 - Drank this one several times when very young and found it delightful. Now it has gained considerable weight and while not shut down, very much in transition and not to be touched for another 5 years. Nose has fine secondary character, fruit on palate is ample, but tannins have conquered the finish. Can't reach full maturity until 2030. With patience, I'm guessing this hits a solid 94.
November 16, 2021 - Unquestionably the most structured of the Cortese normale in the 2009-14 range. All the typical aromas and flavors are here--tart cherry, bit of menthol--but they are muted behind a wall of young tannin. Still a pleasurable drink with dinner, but for near term drinking, I prefer the 2012 and 2014.
February 14, 2021 - Not bad, but a bit thin. While the tannins will soften, not sure there will be much left. Disappointing relative to its peers.
July 27, 2020 - Still young. Lots of acidity but it has the classic voilet nose and tart cherry flavor profile. Opens in layers over time but still tightly wound.
March 19, 2020 - Darkly colored concentrated Nebbiolo. More of a black cherry fruit profile, with strong tar and tobacco notes. Subtle floral highlights on the nose. Full mouthfeel, with ripe fruit to the fore, rather mild tannins in the background(for Nebbiolo). Surprising how approachable this was.
January 20, 2020 - Made from old-vineyard Nebbiolo sourced from the Rabajà cru. Fermented and macerated in stainless steel over a period of 3-4 weeks. Aged in old (5-20 years old) Slavonian oak casks (1700-2600 liters) for 22 months and for a further year in bottles before release. 14% alcohol. Tasted blind.
Translucent, quite pale and still surprisingly youthful raspberry red color. Clean, ripe and somewhat sweet-toned nose with juicy and quite complex aromas of raspberry jam, some cherry marmalade, light floral notes of violets and roses, a marmaladey hint of red-toned primary fruit and a touch of alcohol. Contrasting the quite sweet-toned nose, the wine is surprisingly lean, tightly-knit and very structure-driven on the palate with moderately full body and high-toned flavors of sour cherries, tart lingonberries, some sanguine notes that feel not only somewhat rusty, but even slightly metallic, a little bit of sweeter marmaladey raspberry tones, a hint of extracted black tea and a touch of tart black forest fruits. The wine is high in acidity with assertive, even somewhat aggressive and very grippy tannins. The finish is dry, lean and very tannic with flavors of tart lingonberries and cranberries, some gravelly minerality, a little bit of smoke and tar, light peppery tones, a metallic hint of iron and a touch of sour cherry bitterness.
A very tightly-knit, impressively structured and dead-serious single-vineyard Barbaresco. Very lovely and attractive otherwise, save for the slightly metallic note on the palate. Since I didn't pick up any metallic notes when I tasted the wine last time 2 years ago, I think there must be some bottle variation going on - at least I hope so. All in all, this is a very impressive, somewhat lean and quite forbiddingly tannic Barbaresco that feels like it is not going to be hitting its optimal drinking window anytime soon. Still needs at least 10-15 years of cellaring, if not more. Terrific value at 31,90€.
August 11, 2019 - Nose of stewed red fruits, leather and alcohol with a hint of spice. Savory on the palate, with tannins that coat your mouth. The finish is not very long but the tannins stick with you. Needs a little more time to soften, but this should be a nice wine in a few years.