2012 Barbacarlo Barbacarlo

Community Tasting Notes (4) Avg Score: 88.7 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View GArpaia's profile
  • Report Issue

  1/20/2021 - GArpaia Likes this wine:

  Deep with little foam. Pronounced. Slightly petillant w little RS. Sweet sour cherry, black currant, leather, pepper with a touch of brett that adds character and it’s not damaging. Together juicy, dark & fresh with smooth tannins. Lovely

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View forceberry's profile
  • Report Issue

  10/14/2020 - forceberry wrote: 86 Points

  A blend of Croatina, Uva Rara, Ughetta (Vespolina) and Barbera sourced from the Barbacarlo Cru, all the fruit harvested simultaneously when Croatina is ready. Made in a very hands-off fashion: made with organically farmed fruit, fermented spontaneously in old oak casks, no temperature control, no additions, bottled unfiltered in the spring following the harvest with a small dose of SO2. 14,31% alcohol, 1,09 g/l residual sugar, 6,07 g/l acidity, 0,82 g/l VA, pH 3,45 and 64 mg/l total SO2. Tasted in a Lino Maga 2015-1979 vertical.
  
  Dark yet slightly translucent black cherry color with a thin, pale rim. Looks a bit darker and slightly more evolved than the vintage 2013. Very odd, pungent and rather green-toned nose with quite intense aromas that are all over the place: geosmin notes of damp soil and freshly-dug beet roots, some lifted nuances of sweet VA, a little bit of blood, light crunchy notes of cranberries, a hint of nail polish remover and a sweet touch of cherry marmalade. Some people in the tasting found the nose very captivating, but to me it felt more off than interesting. On the palate the was lively, crunchy and quite ripe with a moderately full body and surprisingly noticeable streak of alcohol heat. There are concentrated flavors of ripe red fruits, some beet root, a little bit of bretty leather, light sweet notes of raisiny fruit, a hint of crunchy cranberry and a slightly distracting green touch of geosmin. The mouthfeel is silky, yet the wine is rather firm and structured with its surprisingly high acidity and quite prominent, moderately grippy tannins. The finish is ripe, somewhat sweet-toned and slightly green with moderately grippy tannins and intense flavors of tart lingonberries, some leathery funk, a little bit of leafy greenness, light vegetal notes of beetroot, a hint of wild strawberries and a touch of savory earthiness. The high alcohol makes the wine finish on a somewhat warm note.
  
  Some people in the tasting considered this to be the best of the younger Barbacarlo vintages, but to me, this was all over the place and lacking the (perhaps contradictory) rustic finesse and sense of freshness typical of Lino Maga. The wine was very ripe, quite sweet-toned and rather high in alcohol with a moderately distracting streak of greenness I thought was the result of geosmin - it certainly didn't feel unripe-kind of vegetal greenness, especially considering how ripe the wine was. The firm structure saved a lot, and fortunately the wine was a lot better on the palate than in the nose. Nevertheless, for me this wine didn't do much, and I'd write it off as a vintage that can be skipped easily.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View JohanPe's profile
  • Report Issue

  7/9/2016 - JohanPe wrote: 89 Points

  Different experiance than last time. Same notes but found it a bit over the top this time. Overly sweet fruit affects the drinkability and freshness imo.
  Still a unique wine that is worth to seek out.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View JohanPe's profile
  • Report Issue

  1/23/2016 - JohanPe wrote: 91 Points

  Deep dark fruit, blue-ish. Plum, sour cherries, dark chocolate, licuorice, dark olives and much more in that category. Really a gorgeous nose, grows with time in the glass, layers. Pretty bold structure on the palate, cherries dominates. Young tannins but on the juicy side, definitely approachable. Seems to be a big difference in vintages here, doesn't really follow the area in general. Fascinating winemaker and a wine with big personality.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.