Barbaresco 2022

There are wines that possess that unmistakable clarity that summarises the terroir in a nutshell. The classic Barbaresco from Fontanabianca is one such wine – composed from various parcels around Neive, vinified with the precision that Matteo Pola has made the philosophy of the house in the third generation. Where the single vineyards Bordini and Serraboella express the specific characteristics of their crus, this Barbaresco paints the bigger picture: 5.5 hectares on the typical limestone-clay soils of the municipality, 300 metres above sea level, where Nebbiolo has been developing the elegance that Neive stands for in the world of Barbaresco for generations.

For over 60 years, the Produttori del Barbaresco have stood for an uncompromising approach to quality, supported by over 50 winegrowers who contribute their best grapes from Barbaresco, Neive and Treiso to the community. The Barbaresco 2022 is a prime example of collective precision and classic style: the Nebbiolo grapes come from selected communal vineyards, some of which are adjacent to the crus, on chalky and clayey soils. Vinification was carried out traditionally: a long maceration period, ageing for 24 months in large Slavonian oak barrels, followed by a further resting period in the bottle.

When Franco Pola bottled the first bottle of his Barbaresco Bordini in 1970, he not only wrote the beginning of a family story, but also symbolised the connection between man and vineyard that lasts for generations. The vineyard bears the same name as the street on which the winery stands – via Bordini 15 – and this geographical coincidence harbours a deeper truth: here, where the winery building looks directly onto the south-east-facing slope, family and terroir are inextricably interwoven. On sandy limestone/clay soil, 280 metres above sea level, Nebbiolo vines 50 to 60 years old take root – one hectare of which is even over 70 years old and ungrafted, a living link to the time when Franco's father Secondo still ran the farm as a farm.

Massolino's Barbaresco is the quintessence of finely balanced terroir: Nebbiolo grapes from the Starderi, Albesani and Serraboella cru sites mature together to create a complex yet transparent wine. The 2022 vintage provided a balanced climate – warm days and cool nights – which harmoniously blends freshness, finesse and aromatic richness. The colour in the glass is a medium garnet red with bright reflections. The nose exudes a velvety elegance of red fruits, violets, delicate lavender, spicy notes, crushed rock and a hint of orange peel – pure, lively fragrance with contoured clarity. A medium body full of energy unfolds on the palate: silky tannins, lively acidity and polished, mineral tension are the carriers of a fruit-emphasised depth. The finish lingers for a long time – intensely floral, spicy and with vibrant freshness. SUPERIORE.DE

Some vineyards become the property of a family through strategic acquisition, others through a marriage that unites two Piedmontese families. When Aldo Pola took Luisella from nearby Serracapelli as his wife, this union not only brought two people together, but also the Pola family with the cru that is now one of the most sought-after in the municipality of Neive: Serraboella. Here, on calcareous soils of medium structure, 300 metres above sea level, Nebbiolo thrives in an interpretation that differs from the powerful Bordini – more reserved in its youth, almost shy, but with an elegance that comes to full fruition over the years. What Matteo Pola vinifies from the 30-year-old vines of this single vineyard is a Barbaresco of remarkable harmony – a wine that impresses not with its volume, but with the crystalline precision that characterises great terroirs.

The Bordini vineyard in Neive, sun-kissed and situated on calcareous, slightly sandy soils, has been known for generations for Nebbiolo with natural vigour and fine contours. The 2022 vintage brought a warm, dry growing climate, which, thanks to cool nights and precise harvest, produced grapes with intense aromas and optimal phenolic ripeness. The colour in the glass is a rich ruby with a slight garnet hue. The nose is inviting and multi-layered: juicy plum, ripe strawberry and the warm aroma of crushed nutmeg interweave with rose petals, orange peel, a hint of dried herbs and fine spice. On the palate, the wine reveals its dual nature – generous red-fleshed fruit paired with the classic Nebbiolo structure that characterises Bordini. Velvety but noticeable tannins provide backbone, while the lively acidity keeps the rich fruit in balance and lends freshness and energy to the powerful body. The finish is long, savoury and infused with a fine mineral vein – a Barbaresco full of expressiveness that harmoniously combines the essence of the vineyard and vintage. SUPERIORE.DE

In the gentle hills of Neive, where the Bordini family cultivated their vines for over three hundred years, Giorgio Rivetti has been writing a new chapter in Piedmontese wine history since 2006. When the last scion of the Bordini dynasty sold his 4.5-hectare estate, the visionary winemaker of La Spinetta immediately recognised the extraordinary potential of this site. At an altitude of 240 metres, facing south-east, where calcareous marl meets sandy soils, forty-year-old Nebbiolo vines now thrive according to organic principles – without herbicides or pesticides, in harmony with nature. The Bordini was originally intended as Giorgio's basic Barbaresco, but the grapes revealed such exceptional quality that one of the most elegant representatives of the region was created. The particularly sandy soil composition gives this wine the lightness and aromatic delicacy that distinguishes it from heavier Barbaresco wines.

It was Domizio Cavazza, director of the Royal School of Viticulture in Alba, who gave Barbaresco its name and its claim to fame in 1894. A wine that was to stand up to the more powerful Barolo – finer, accessible earlier, but no less complex. More than a century later, the roles are clearly divided: Barbaresco stands for the elegant side of Nebbiolo, for finesse instead of power, for fragrance instead of darkness. Prunotto has found his answer to this appellation in a single vineyard: Bric Turot. Five hectares at around 200 metres, with an exposure from south-west to south-east, which gives the hill the shape of a natural amphitheatre. The soil – tortonian limestone and marl with veins of sand, rich in magnesium and manganese – is the same foundation on which Gajas Sorì Tildin stands just a few metres away. Not bad terrain then.

Franco and Roberto Massolino dreamed of this moment for years. A Barbaresco – was missing from their portfolio. But it had to be the right vineyard, the perfect location. Then, at the end of 2018, they struck lucky: Bernardino Gastaldi, an ambitious winemaker from Neive with plots in three of the best MGAs in Barbaresco, offered them a collaboration. Starderi, Serraboella, Albesani – three names that are making history. The first harvest in 2019 and it was clear from the outset that Albesani would be vinified separately. What this hill told was too extraordinary. Two hectares at 230 metres, south-west facing, calcareous-marly clay soils with the characteristic Marna di Sant'Agata Fossili, the fossil rock formation that also forms the foundation of Barolo. Fifty-year-old vines with deep roots. Albesani is recognised by connoisseurs as one of the most beautiful vineyards in Italy – and anyone who has tasted the wine will understand why. Even during fermentation, the brothers realised that this is an exceptional wine. The perfect combination of exposure, altitude and age of the vines produces grapes of a purity and elegance that astonishes even experienced Oenologist.

For over 60 years, the Produttori del Barbaresco have stood for an uncompromising approach to quality, supported by over 50 winegrowers who contribute their best grapes from Barbaresco, Neive and Treiso to the community. The Barbaresco 2022 is a prime example of collective precision and classic style: the Nebbiolo grapes come from selected communal vineyards, some of which are adjacent to the crus, on chalky and clayey soils. Vinification was carried out traditionally: a long maceration period, ageing for 24 months in large Slavonian oak barrels, followed by a further resting period in the bottle.

The magnificent Asili 2022 opens with a dark, compact appearance and displays an impressive level of aromatic intensity and complexity. On the nose, tantalising aromas of cherry, strawberry, eucalyptus, plus a hint of orange peel, rose petals and pine wood. Full to medium-bodied on the palate, with crushed raspberries, juicy red cherries, cinnamon and chopped herbs. The fresh acidity and exquisite tannins provide a bright and extremely elegant backdrop. This wine continues to surpass itself with every glass, its great class is already undisputed! SUPERIORE.DE

There are wines that define regions. Gaja's Barbaresco is one of them. It has been produced since 1859, over five generations, and in all these decades it has remained what it always was: the calling card, the brand ambassador, the essence of what Barbaresco means. While the single-vineyard wines – sorì San Lorenzo, Sorì Tildìn, Costa Russi – show virtuosity, it is this classic Barbaresco that captures the soul of the terroir. It is the sum of fourteen vineyards spread across the municipalities of Barbaresco and Treiso, each parcel a mosaic stone in the big picture.

The genius of Neive, as they called Bruno Giacosa – this quiet, uncompromising man who had never seen the inside of an oenology school and yet made some of the greatest Nebbiolo wines of the 20th century. Since his death in 2018, daughter Bruna Giacosa has continued to run the winery in Neive together with cellar master Dante Scaglione. The same precision. The same philosophy: large wood, long maceration, absolute respect for the terroir. No compromise that does not begin in the vineyard. Rabajà is the other face of Barbaresco. Where Asili – the second large Giacosa parcel – stands for elegance and floral fragrance, Rabajà is the harder, more mineral, more structured brother. South-south-west exposure, chalky clay, warmer than its neighbours to the north – a vineyard that Giacosa only acquired in 2013 when Lorenzo Alutto offered a small, historic parcel on the open market. 0.6 hectares. Around 4,000 bottles. Grapes that had previously flowed into the crus (riserve) of the Produttori del Barbaresco for decades.

In Piedmont, "Costa" is the name given to the side of a hill that faces the sun. "Russi" was the nickname of the tenant who once farmed this vineyard – a man whose real name has long been forgotten, but lives on on every label. When Angelo Gaja acquired the plot in 1967, he probably sensed that something special lay dormant here. Eleven years later, in 1978, he bottled the first Costa Russi as a single vineyard. Since then, the 4.35-hectare vineyard has taken its place in the triumvirate of legendary Gaja crus – alongside the powerful Sorì San Lorenzo and the mineral Sorì Tildìn. But Costa Russi plays a different tune: where the brothers offer muscle and tension, it responds with grace and fragrance. The south-west exposure at 230 metres above sea level, directly below Sorì Tildìn, gives the Nebbiolo the warmth that makes it soft and inviting without ever losing its structure. After three weeks of maceration and twenty-four months in oak – first in barriques, then in large barrels – the 2022 shows what Costa Russi is all about.

There are wines that define regions. Gaja's Barbaresco is one of them. It has been produced since 1859, over five generations, and in all these decades it has remained what it always was: the calling card, the brand ambassador, the essence of what Barbaresco means. While the single-vineyard wines – sorì San Lorenzo, Sorì Tildìn, Costa Russi – show virtuosity, it is this classic Barbaresco that captures the soul of the terroir. It is the sum of fourteen vineyards spread across the municipalities of Barbaresco and Treiso, each parcel a mosaic stone in the big picture.

The magnificent Asili 2022 opens with a dark, compact appearance and displays an impressive level of aromatic intensity and complexity. On the nose, tantalising aromas of cherry, strawberry, eucalyptus, plus a hint of orange peel, rose petals and pine wood. Full to medium-bodied on the palate, with crushed raspberries, juicy red cherries, cinnamon and chopped herbs. The fresh acidity and exquisite tannins provide a bright and extremely elegant backdrop. This wine continues to surpass itself with every glass, its great class is already undisputed! SUPERIORE.DE

There are wines that define regions. Gaja's Barbaresco is one of them. It has been produced since 1859, over five generations, and in all these decades it has remained what it always was: the calling card, the brand ambassador, the essence of what Barbaresco means. While the single-vineyard wines – sorì San Lorenzo, Sorì Tildìn, Costa Russi – show virtuosity, it is this classic Barbaresco that captures the soul of the terroir. It is the sum of fourteen vineyards spread across the municipalities of Barbaresco and Treiso, each parcel a mosaic stone in the big picture.

The genius of Neive, as they called Bruno Giacosa – this quiet, uncompromising man who had never seen the inside of an oenology school and yet made some of the greatest Nebbiolo wines of the 20th century. Since his death in 2018, daughter Bruna Giacosa has continued to run the winery in Neive together with cellar master Dante Scaglione. The same precision. The same philosophy: large wood, long maceration, absolute respect for the terroir. No compromise that does not begin in the vineyard. Rabajà is the other face of Barbaresco. Where Asili – the second large Giacosa parcel – stands for elegance and floral fragrance, Rabajà is the harder, more mineral, more structured brother. South-south-west exposure, chalky clay, warmer than its neighbours to the north – a vineyard that Giacosa only acquired in 2013 when Lorenzo Alutto offered a small, historic parcel on the open market. 0.6 hectares. Around 4,000 bottles. Grapes that had previously flowed into the crus (riserve) of the Produttori del Barbaresco for decades.

There are wines that define regions. Gaja's Barbaresco is one of them. It has been produced since 1859, over five generations, and in all these decades it has remained what it always was: the calling card, the brand ambassador, the essence of what Barbaresco means. While the single-vineyard wines – sorì San Lorenzo, Sorì Tildìn, Costa Russi – show virtuosity, it is this classic Barbaresco that captures the soul of the terroir. It is the sum of fourteen vineyards spread across the municipalities of Barbaresco and Treiso, each parcel a mosaic stone in the big picture.