Wine & Spirits - December 2021 - 66

Year's Best Barolo
& Barbaresco
Our blind panels tasted 290 Barolo and
Barbaresco wines for this issue.
Stephanie Johnson, our critic for Italian
wines, rated 139 as exceptional (90+) and
9 as Best Buys. Find a complete list of
wines tasted and all reviews at
wineandspiritsmagazine.com.
BARBARESCO
96 | Produttori del
Barbaresco
$85
2016 Barbaresco Riserva Muncagota ^ Muncagota's
southeast-facing slopes yielded an
exciting wine in the balanced 2016 vintage.
Its red-cherry and raspberry flavors are tangy
and precise, drawn out by vibrant acidity as
the wine takes on notes of licorice and soft
herbs. The freshness and clarity of fruit make
the wine so enticing now, yet it's destined to
give even more with time in the cellar. As
one of our tasters noted, this is everything
you want from a Riserva in a good vintage. §
Vias, NY
96 | Sottimano
$126
2016 Barbaresco Currá ^ The 2016 Currá
shows the firm, polished tannins typical of
this Neive cru. The wine's black-cherry and
plum flavors begin to unfurl with air, revealing
layers of savory herbs and dusky spices.
It's a bold and nervy wine that should stay in
the cellar a few more years while those grippy
tannins relax. § Skurnik Wines & Spirits, NY
95 | Marchesi di Grésy
$130
2016 Barbaresco Riserva Camp Gros Martinenga
^ This is a Riserva for the long haul,
its cool, mineral tannins keeping the brisk
red-fruit tones firmly enclosed for now. After
a few hours of air, the lush red-cherry and
berry flavors emerge, tinged with orange peel
brightness, the flavors all lifted by fragrant
rose-petal scents. § Dalla Terra, Napa, CA
95 | Sottimano
66
WINE & SPIR IT S
$90
2018 Barbaresco Cottà ^ Andrea Sottimano's
releases from the wet and challenging 2018
vintage are impressive, none more so than
the dark and savory Cottà from a southwestfacing
plot in Neive. Richly textured and
laced with notes of dried herbs, dark chocolate
and warm spices, the wine's dark berry
tones are guided by firm, tea-like tannins. §
Skurnik Wines & Spirits, NY
95 | Sottimano
$90
2018 Barbaresco Basarin ^ The Sottimano
family's Basarin plot sits near the top of the
hill on a south/southwest-facing slope. Its
vines yielded a firmly structured wine in 2018
that is initially dark and brooding, requiring
a few hours of air to unfold with juicy redand
black-cherry tones that buzz with warm
spice notes. The wine seems to gain energy
on the long and balanced finish, indicating
good cellaring potential. § Skurnik Wines &
Spirits, NY
95 | Vietti
$115
2017 Barbaresco Masseria ^ Luca Currado
makes this Barbaresco with fruit from vineyards
in Treiso and Neive. Its cherry and raspberry
flavors exhibit the dense concentration
typical of the hot and dry 2017 vintage, yet
the wine is lifted by fresh scents of rose petal
and vibrant, finely woven acidity. Already
beautifully integrated, the taut tannins and
long finish indicate plenty of aging potential.
(W&S 8/21) § Dalla Terra, Napa, CA
94 | Marchesi di Grésy
$92
2017 Barbaresco Gaiun Martinenga ^ Fruit
from the western end of the Martinenga cru
yielded a bold and concentrated wine in the
warm and dry 2017 vintage. Grippy tannins
give way to flavors of red cherry and raspberry
that are crisp and precise, those fruit
tones enlivened by warm spice notes. § Dalla
Terra, Napa, CA
94 | Produttori del
Barbaresco
93 | Piero Busso
$43
2017 Barbaresco ^ The Produttori del Barbaresco
lost about 20 percent of their crop
in the 2017 growing season due to frost and
hail in the spring and a long drought in the
summer, but what remained gave a fresh
D E c E mb ER 2021
$90
2017 Barbaresco Albesani ^ This wine is all
smoothness and soft edges; stabilized by
bright, chalky tannins, its ripe red-cherry
flavors verge on sweet. The wine finishes dry
and balanced, with lingering spice notes. §
North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA
94 | Ronchi
$38
2017 Barbaresco ^ This richly textured wine's
fleshy black-cherry flavors are framed by
chalky tannins and enlivened by high-toned
menthol notes. The wine displays good density
and power, its ripe fruit tones lifted by
fresh floral scents even as the wine finishes on
lingering notes of licorice and warm spices. §
North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA
94 | La Spinetta
$155
2018 Barbaresco Valeirano ^ From a plot of
55-year-old vines in Neive, this wine exhibits
ripe black-cherry flavors tinged with earthy
tones and framed by firm, mineral tannins.
Notes of dusky spice emerge with air, balanced
by hints of tobacco leaf. § Indigenous
Selections, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
and exuberant wine packed with flavors of
vibrant red cherry and zesty notes of orange
peel. The Produttori typically offer one of
the best quality-price ratios for Barbaresco,
and the exciting 2017 version is no exception.
(W&S 8/21) § Vias, NY
https://www.wine.com/product/ronchi-barbaresco-2017/721010 http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/piero+busso+albesani+borge+docg+barbaresco+piemonte+italy/2017
Wine & Spirits - December 2021

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