I opened this on a Friday night at home, when I might have normally gone for a less serious, less expensive wine, but from the moment I stuck my nose into it, I knew I’d made the right decision. It delivers that distinctive Nebbiolo perfume that perhaps attracts me more than any other wine, and worryingly sees me paying ever increasing amounts of money for Barbaresco and Barolo. Cherries and florals rise out of the glass before gradually revealing some further notes of tar, chesterfield, and liquorice.
To drink it is medium-bodied, though it builds through the palate as it delivers layer upon layer of beautiful fruit. Complexity is already apparent but will continue to unfold with bottle age. It’s not as overtly tannic as one might expect from a young barbaresco, but the tannins that are there are perfectly ripe and very persistent. Underpinned by lovely acidity. Beautiful wine. The Rabaja vineyard does it again. It’s actually very drinkable now if you’re in the right mood, but will undoubtedly improve over the next decade.
(Rabaja love - Cortese bottles on the left)
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