BARBARESCO
2019 Basarin Sottimano
Grapes | Nebbiolo |
Colour | Red |
Origin | Italy, Piedmont |
Village | Barbaresco |
ABV | 14% |
Vineyard | Basarin |
Steep vineyard, mixed soils – limestone, sand and clay. All the wines are fermented in oak vats, around 45 days' maceration and 20 months in big (approx 45 hl) oak vats. Light bricky colour. Scented, mature red fruits and a hint of citrus and cherry liqueur as well as some bottle-age leathery notes. Fine-grained, chalky tannins. Masses of freshness and tension. Bone dry and still pretty young. Long, dry finish. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 17+ Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Jul 2024)
12 | ||
*Case price discount: Mix any 12 bottles of wine (or 9 litre equivalent) or 6 bottles of Champagne, Spirits, Sweet Wine or Fortified (4.5 litres) to get the discounted 'case price' for each bottle.
Mocha, blue flower, menthol and forest berry aromas lift out of the glass. Firmly structured but elegant, the linear palate exhibits pomegranate, wild strawberry, star anise and white pepper alongside a backbone of fine-grained tannins and racy acidity. Drink 2029–2044 Drinking range: 2029 - 2044 Rating: 96 Kerin O'Keefe, kerinokeefe.com (Apr 2024)
The 2019 Barbaresco Basarin is a big, potent wine. Savory herbs, menthol, licorice, spice and new leather give the Basarin its distinctive personality. Readers will have to be patient, as the Basarin is quite the powerhouse. Time in the glass brings out the wine's aromatic breadth and overall presence. Distinctly chinato-like notes linger on the exotic finish. Drinking range: 2025 - 2039 Rating: 94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Oct 2022)
This red is classically proportioned, offering pure cherry fruit, with accents of currant and strawberry, leather and spice. A firm spine of tannins provides support and this remains balanced, juicy and long on the ripe cherry- and mineral-tinged aftertaste. Best from 2026 through 2043. Drinking range: 2026 - 2043 Rating: 95 Bruce Sanderson, The Wine Spectator (Oct 2022)
Sottimano
The next generation of Andrea, Elena and Claudia Sottimano are now at the helm here and this exquisite estate continues to make better and better wines - some of the finest in Barbaresco. This sixteen hectare estate is based in the Cotta' region of Barbaresco, and the Sottimano family have over the years bought outstanding vineyards in the 'crus' of Currà, Cottà, Fausoni, Pajore and Basarin. In the vineyard they work organically and aim to limit yields. The winemaking is as low-intervention as possible, using only natural yeasts and then bottling without filtering or fining. All of these 'crus' are given exactly the same élevage, so as to allow the individual 'terroirs' to express their character. Terroir expression is the target here - and these amazing wines are as much an education as a joy to drink.
There are five different crus - each with very specific attributes where they produce their distinctly different Barbarescos. The latest edition is Basarin, with a mixture of clay, limestone and sand, is at about four hundred metres above sea level. This produces the estate's Langhe Nebbiolo, which is basically 'village Barbaresco', as the vines are very young (10-15 years old). It makes for wines that are always very elegant, refined, tannins are silky and softer, nuanced of spices and herbs (eucalyptus).
Fausoni, on sand and clay, makes wines that are always very elegant - mint, liquorice and little red fruits. This is in the historical part of Neive.
Currà, on clay and limestone, is one of the smallest cru of the whole appellation, wines are always very intense and powerful, hard-bodied and with good tannins. Hints of spices and smoke are characteristics of this area.
Cottà, on limestone with clay is one of the oldest cru in Barbaresco, vines are always very old here (fifty years and older) and the colours are just a little bit lighter than other vineyards (because of the clay), but they have a very distinctive nose of dark fruits and mint, a great elegance and mineral tannins.
Pajore is almost entirely on limestone with just a little clay. This is the highest vineyard of all, at 420 metres above sea level. The vines are very old, and it is always the most mineral and elegant of the four Barbarescos. Limestone brings into the wine a great purity of fruit, a distinctive aroma of spices and tobacco (cigar box) and a very unusual quality of tannins, firm but very mineral.
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