2013 Giuseppe Cortese Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà

Community Tasting Notes (7) Avg Score: 93.3 points

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  12/2/2023 - mattias_hansen@hotmail.com Likes this wine: 97 Points

  Dark garnet in colour, orangy hue.This one is a bit fickle at this stage. Very traditional Barbaresco and one where you are in for something different if you have only experienced more modern or lean modern producers who shorten maceration time and rely on more oak flavour to soften the palate. Upon PNP , it is completely closed so i double decanted and left to smell and follow. After 3 hrs, it started opening on the nose with a lovely intense dark cherry, dried herb, balsalmico and eucalyptus note. Menthol, black tea and woody notes (wood, not oak from aging) weawe in an out. Intense and complex. The palate is less refined and at this stage the fruit on palate seems to move into secondary notes of dried cherry, and plums with a slight pruniness, accompagnied by leather and cedar, although not a mature profile yet, only hints. the structure is still quite big and impressive, but the tannins are not overly agressive. some sweetness emerges eventually. Slight touch of heat on the backend of the palate maybe. Long aftertaste which is not as complex as you would suppose and a touch out of balance. I was missing some perfume and floral notes which i was expecting. We are at the 4 hour mark at this stage. I find it difficult to rate such a wine, it is massive and boasts lots of intensity, at the same time it is not very hedonistic at this point and seems to maybe need more time to come together. i would rate the nose 95 points easy, but palate is a bit disjointed. I dont know if that just requires more time. i am saving half a bottle for tomorrow to learn more
  
  EDIT: it keeps improving, and now after 5 hrs i wish i hadnt touched it before now!. The nose gains in complexity and the palate and mouthfeel fleshes out. Dried and fresh roses gallore! Fields of lavender! The palate is much more juicy and pleasurable now. What a transition! Im getting convinced this just needs time and will gain +3 points easily if everything materialises.
  
  Day 2. slow ox overnight then decanted. Perfect transition, it is much more harmonious and balanced on day two following on the expansion of the palate of day 1. Dusty black cherry, balsamico and darjeeling tea, cool mint, woody and earthy forest notes. Everything came together wonderfully and the aftertaste lingers long and is more balanced with grainy but unobtrusive tannins and wondeful lavender notes. It keeps building on the palate with more time and becoming richer and more complex with more layers added. This is quite a wonderful wine with lots of soul and such a transition from day 1. would recommend opening and decanting in the morning or atleast 12 hrs become consumption and ideally this is a glass you wanna follow for some time as it will continue to evolve and change
  
  Compared to Barolo this is exceptional value at this price level and dont even think about burgundy...

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  6/9/2023 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:

  Still very youthful. Plenty of rose petal action along with cherry and plum fruits. There’s some sweet cedar, dried herbs and baked earth too. It has excellent intensity and detail, with each sip unlocking an interesting nuance. It builds through the palate and drives on, possessing excellent length of flavour.

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  10/14/2022 - Papies wrote: 92 Points

  Annual Pilgrimage to Piedmont - 2022 Edition; 10/14/2022-10/16/2022 (Piedmont, Italy): Still at it early stages and in fact we should have decanted albeit the wise thing is to cellar another few years. Very classic and at times even a touch rustic. Good ripe fruit, dried cherries, soft tar, good palate presence and nose but one feels it a bit buttoned down still. Solid 92 but with more to give with age.

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  6/20/2022 - Noel Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Still young. Decanted twice c 5 hours before drinking, had plenty of fruit and lots of classic leather and spice. Did not quite open up as i would have liked, still very, very good and years ahead.

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  5/22/2022 - tedcholl Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Needed a double spin to bring out the fruits. Kirsch, tobacco, underbrush. Would benefit from 5+ more years in the bottle.

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