Tasting Note
91 Points, Antonio Galloni, 2022-2036 Vinous The 2018 Barbaresco is a fabulous wine for readers who can't or don't want to wait for more structured vintages here to come around. There is plenty of acidity and tannin, but the 2018 also offers lovely mid-palate pliancy. Dark cherry plum, lavender, amaro herbs and spice are all beautifully layered in the glass. The 2018 is an attractive, easygoing, delicious wine to drink over the next decade or so.Review Date: 01 Feb 22
About the Producer
La Ca’ Nova not only makes some of the most breathtaking Barbaresco, but they make some of the most reasonably priced. In September 2022, Antonio Galloni of Vinous wrote, ‘La Ca' Nova is, in my view, the single most under-the-radar winery in all of Piemonte. The wines just keep getting better and better, yet prices remain exceedingly modest, especially within the context of today’s market.’ We are inclined to agree. Winemaker Marco Rocca crafts wines in harmony with each vintage and which reflect the individual terroir. This estate is run on reassuringly traditional lines; the approach adapts to conditions in a gradual and refined manner. The Rocca family started producing their own Barbaresco in the 1970s from several of the region’s leading Crus, including Montestefano, which sits approximately 270 metres above sea level with a southerly facing aspect, and Montefico, within which the family own a parcel in the Bric Mentina vineyard. While the altitude in Montefico is virtually the same as Montestefano, the orientation is more south-east facing. Montestefano produces more powerful, deeper styles of wine, whereas Montefico reveals a terrific elegance and a slightly gentler expression. In terms of production, there is no temperature control during fermentation, and, towards the end of fermentation, Marco employs an approach called steccatura, which keeps the skins submerged for a post-fermentation maceration of 15-20 days to extract more from the fruit. The wines are then aged in 30-hectolitre Austrian oak botti - which Marco prefers to the more widely used Slavonian oak - for a minimum of 18 months.
