Barbaresco

A great Barbaresco, destined for long ageing: Garnet red, concentrated and powerful aromas of red berries, freshly cut flowers, mint and tobacco. The flavour is also bursting with power and richness, but still has a captivating purity, immediacy and elegance, the framework of which is formed by the beautifully integrated tannins. SUPERIORE.DE

The single vineyard Gallina in Neive has been synonymous with powerful, broodingBarbaresco for decades. The vines grow on calcareous marl soils with a southern exposure – a terroir that characterises the Nebbiolo with lush fruit, fine spice and distinctive structure. Organic cultivation promotes vitality and expressiveness, while limiting yields ensures concentration. The 2021 vintage was characterised by an ideal balance: warm, sunny days and cool nights during the ripening phase resulted in healthy, aromatically complex grapes. After careful manual harvesting, a traditional maceration followed, after which the wine matured for around 20 months in new barriques before being bottled unfiltered.

The grapes for this exceptional wine come from vineyards 450 metres above sea level in the Neive district. Fine spicy notes, dark berries and wet earth dominate the precise structure and power of this yet very elegant red. Buy, store and savour in anticipation! SUPERIORE.DE

Barbaresco Starderi from the municipality of Neive is almost austere with its scent of pink pepper and cocoa, which combined with the subtle woody notes gives a delicious overall aroma; powerful and rich in flavour with the still superficial but very noble tannin. SUPERIORE.DE

High above the Tanaro in the municipality of Treiso lies the Valeirano parcel – one of the most barren and steepest sites in Barbaresco. Calcareous marl soils, interspersed with fine veins of sand, and an exposed south-east exposure give the Nebbiolo here a particularly taut, vertical profile. The 2021 vintage brought ideal conditions: a steady summer, cool nights and a golden autumn ensured perfectly ripe grapes with high aromatic potential. After careful manual harvesting, the wine fermented traditionally on the skins and then matured for around 20 months in new barriques before being bottled unfiltered.

First bottled in 1967, Roncaglie (formerly Barbaresco Masseria) comes from a vineyard in Bricco di Neive and is essentially vinified and aged like a Barolo. Since the 2018 vintage, it now comes from a small parcel that used to belong to the Socré Barbaresco winery, and it is now deliberately brought to market a year later to ensure greater harmony and balance.

Five hectares at around 200 metres above sea level. Tortonian soils of limestone, marl and sand, rich in magnesium and manganese. A south-west to south-east exposure that gives the Bric Turot its amphitheatrical shape – and the Nebbiolo all directions at the same time. 2019 was not a favourable vintage. A mild winter caused the vegetation to awaken early – then damp, cold weather from April to the end of May slowed down flowering, reduced fruit set and limited yields from the outset. The summer brought warmth and drought, interrupted by rainfall from mid-July. August with cool nights, September rains, then clarity and slow, patient ripening until well into October. Harvest from 12 to 19 October. A year that Nebbiolo has worked hard for.

Full, enveloping and with great persistence, Montestefano is sometimes referred to as the "Barolo of Barbaresco".

A fruity and graceful Barbaresco. The loamy soils give it a firm backbone and strong tannins.

Eucalyptus and red berries on the nose. Energetic, deep and elegant Barbaresco with a cornucopia of fruit, plus some rose petals and spices. Wonderfully polished style, one of Pelissero's great wines. SUPERIORE.DE

Ceretto's entry-level Barbaresco comes from different sites, mostly younger vines from Asili (35%) and the lower part of Bernadot (65%). Bright, elegant ruby red. It has full energy and vivacity and offers excellent persistence and remarkable balance. On the nose, sweet red cherry, mint, pine, liquorice and candied orange peel. Taut and ferruginous on the palate, very juicy, salty, stretches precisely across the tongue, with some pressure, considerable juicy-long finish. After good aeration already impressively accessible when young. SUPERIORE.DE

2019 was a gift to Nebbiolo in the Barbaresco DOCG - and Vanotu has accepted it. This Barbaresco from the historic Basarin cru vineyard in Neive bears the signature of a great vintage with quiet naturalness: nothing is overdrawn, nothing loud - everything is in its place with quiet precision. The vines stand on sparse limestone marl, interspersed with sandy veins, with optimal south-west exposure. This site produces wines with depth and tension, but also airiness - a play of power and transparency that is exemplified in Vanotu 2019. The wine was matured for 20 months in French barriques, sensitively dosed, only to frame the wine, not to mould it.

Domizio Cavazza had vineyards in Ovello. When he founded the first Cantine Sociale in Barbaresco in 1894, Ovello was already part of his plan – one of the oldest and most original vineyards in this appellation. Today, with over twenty hectares, Ovello is by far the largest of the nine Produttori del Barbaresco sites and is located at the northernmost point of the municipal area, where the hill has various exposures – west-south-west and east-south-east – on a soil that is both calcareous and rich in clay. The clay is more present here than elsewhere in Barbaresco, and it gives the wine its typical opulence: plump fruit, full body, firm tannins. The Produttori del Barbaresco also vinify Ovello according to the same principle that has been maintained for decades: 28 days of maceration, at least thirty months in large Slavonian barrels, a further year in the bottle. The Riserve are bottled exclusively in exceptional vintages – and 2021 leaves no doubt about that.

The grapes come from the family's own plots throughout the Barbaresco zone – mainly in Treiso (including Il Bricco, San Stefanetto, Bongiovanni) and in San Rocco Seno d'Elvio (Rocche di Massalupo). Each vineyard is harvested and fermented separately in order to preserve its own characteristics; the lots are only combined after ripening. The wine is matured in the classic way over a long period in large Slavonian oak barrels, supplemented by a smaller proportion in French oak, enough to refine the texture without masking the origin. The 2019 vintage benefited from long, balanced vegetation with cool nights in autumn: fully ripe, aromatically dense grapes with an ideal acid structure.

A Barbaresco from our own vineyards in Treiso and San Rocco Seno d'Elvio. Each parcel is harvested separately and fermented in stainless steel; gentle remontage, selective délestage, followed by calm malolactic fermentation. For the maturation phase, the winery uses large Slavonian barrels, supplemented by a smaller proportion of French oak – not to provide flavour, but to fine-tune the texture and balance. Thanks to stable summer weather and cool nights in autumn, 2020 produced fully ripe, healthy harvestwith a well-proportioned acidity line.

There are vintages that change a winery forever. 2016 was such a turning point for Sottimano. After years of meticulous, consistent biodynamic work in the vineyards, Andrea Sottimano reached a point this year where cru and terroir expressed themselves with a clarity and precision that he had never experienced before. The decision to create a Riserva was not a continuation of tradition – previously, old vines from Pajoré and Cottà had been combined for this purpose –but a new beginning, a return to the pure terroir of a single vineyard: Currá. Andrea selected the best grapes for this premium selection from the oldest plots of this legendary 2.8-hectare cru in Neive, where 55 to 75-year-old Nebbiolo vines sink their roots deep into pure limestone. Only 3,000 bottles were intended to tell the story of this exceptional vintage – of a wine that combines complexity, elegance and richness like no other in the portfolio. The Riserva matures for 22 to 24 months in barrels, partly on the fine lees, before being bottled unfiltered and unfined and left to rest in the bottle for a few more years.

"Ruby red with bright reflections. The nose delights with a bouquet of floral notes: Mauve, hibiscus and hollyhocks are surrounded by fruity cherries and preserved raspberries and spicy aromas of black pepper, cedar and juniper berries. The red fruit is underpinned by dark aromatics and vegetal notes of redcurrant and blackberry leaves. Initially subtle on the palate until it brings out the iron fist in a velvet glove. The gentle attack calmly builds up immense pressure with great inner tension on the mid palate. The extract-sweet fruit of cherries and a fine core of sloes mingle with marzipan and noble bitter notes of the ripe tannins, which give it additional length. The exemplary use of wood sets the scene for exactly what characterises a Barbaresco: Concentration with simultaneous lightness and transparency." Sebastian Bordthäuser (Sommelier und Wein-Journalist)

"From the very first moments of fermentation of this wine, we realise every year that we are dealing with a very high expression of Nebbiolo. The MGA Albesani is a very beautiful vineyard in the municipality of Neive with ideal exposure and perfect altitude. From there comes a rich, elegant, sometimes austere wine that combines its great appeal with excellent ageing potential." Franco Massolino

Bright garnet red with a copper-coloured rim. Fine olfactory cinema of red fruits and sea buckthorn. In addition, forest earth paired with a hint of tobacco and bitter almond. In the glass still young, initially loud tannins, with some air then softer tones and a powerful, lasting final. An elegant, aristocratic wine that leaves a lasting impression not only on the first glass. SUPERIORE.DE

Albesani leaves nothing to be desired, in expression and character it is simply grandiose. The fresh bouquet of flowers, chalk, tobacco and cherries continues on the palate, where a beguilingly silky tannin and aromatic intensity virtually rob the senses. A masterpiece from Luca Roagna! SUPERIORE.DE

With a few hours in the air, Albesani begins to reveal the inner sweetness and fragrance so typical of wines from this Neive vineyard. Sweet dried cherries, rose petals, kirsch, cinnamon, orange peel and sweet tobacco open up with a little coaxing. Albesani clearly has a lot to offer for those who can wait for the initially prominent tannins to soften. SUPERIORE.DE

Gallina comes from a steep, sandy vineyard, similar to the Asili site, but with less lime content, which gives it more roundness and fullness. Full bouquet of sweet tobacco, cedar, liquorice and dried herbs. A soft, sweet, red fruit combines in an exciting way with the typical Roagna austerity on the palate to an impressive complexity and length. It will only reveal its true elegance to us in a few years. SUPERIORE.DE

For over 60 years, the Produttori del Barbaresco have stood for an uncompromising commitment to quality, supported by over 50 winegrowers who contribute their finest grapes from Barbaresco, Neive and Treiso to the cooperative. The Barbaresco 2022 is a prime example of collective precision and classic style: the Nebbiolo grapes come from selected municipal vineyards, some of which border the crus, on limestone and clay-rich soils. Vinification was carried out using traditional methods: extended maceration, ageing for 24 months in large Slavonian oak barrels, followed by a further period of rest in the bottle.

Do you know the small vineyard Basarin near Neive? A bright ruby garnet awaits you and a wine from a particularly beautiful vintage: on the nose, a cornucopia of aromas of wild sour cherry, herbs, some liquorice and tobacco. Firm and very clearly structured on the palate, muscular and yet with an elegance that never loses control due to its power. Basarin is a highly energetic and precise Nebbiolo that reveals its complexity only with some patience and aeration. The neighbouring terroir Neive shows itself with distinguished elegance and marries harmoniously with the volume and weight typical of the site - and in a depth that only vines over 50 years old can produce. SUPERIORE.DE