Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 2008

A Nebbiolo built on structure and time rather than fruit richness. The 2008 vintage now shows the more delicate side of the variety: garnet red with brick-red reflections, with dried rose, violet and dark cherry on the nose, underscored by tar.

Azienda Agricola Sottimano is based in Cottà near Neive, where Rino Sottimano acquired the estate in the late 1960s. Nebbiolo grows on just under twenty hectares, with plots spread across the villages of Neive and Treiso: Cottà, Currà, Fausoni, Pajorè and Basarin. Many of these vineyards were planted by Rino Sottimano himself in the 1970s and 80s, and numerous vines are now fifty to sixty years old. The grass between the rows is mown two to three times a year, with every other row ploughed in autumn. The estate is now run by Andrea, Elena and Claudia Sottimano.

Nebbiolo, spontaneously fermented with wild yeasts from vineyard and cellar. Andrea Sottimano leaves the must on the skins for up to sixty days, where elsewhere pressing takes place after two to three weeks. Malolactic fermentation only begins once the cellar warms up naturally in spring, and sometimes stretches on into autumn. The wine is bottled without filtration and without fining.

Dry and taut, the tannin fine-grained yet perceptible, the acidity vibrant. On the finish, wild raspberry, truffle and undergrowth, along with a subtle bitter note.

Certified organic farming for over forty years, without herbicides or synthetic fertilisers. "I have always firmly believed in working hard in the vineyard to make great wines," says Rino Sottimano.