Pajoré Barbaresco DOCG 2023 1500ml Magnum

The Pajoré is the Barbaresco Sottimano crafts from the eponymous cru in Treiso: finely drawn, elegant by nature yet powerful. On the nose, shimmering red fruit, underpinned by a fine woody spice of sandalwood, alongside mild spices such as white pepper, allspice and vadouvan. The top note carries hollyhock and violet, with a touch of mint and liquorice. Delicate and persistent at once.

The Pajoré cru lies in Treiso with a southwest exposure, on soils of calcareous marl and clay. The old vines stand at around 400 metres of altitude and consistently yield low quantities of small, concentrated bunches. Rino Sottimano acquired the Cottà estate in the late 1960s; today Andrea, Elena and Claudia run the Azienda Agricola Sottimano in Neive, farming almost twenty hectares of Nebbiolo. The estate has been farmed organically for over forty years, without herbicides or synthetic fertilisers.

Pure Nebbiolo, selectively hand-harvested and spontaneously fermented with native yeasts. This is followed by extended skin contact, partly with a submerged cap; Andrea Sottimano leaves his Nebbiolo on the skins for up to sixty days. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel and only starts once the cellar naturally warms up in spring. Ageing lasts around 20 to 24 months in wood, a small portion of which is new. Bottled unfined and unfiltered, 14.5% vol.

The entry stays transparent and finely structured, with the power arriving afterwards. Dark fruit is flanked by fine-grained tannins that evoke tobacco and leather aromatically, shaping the wine's distinctive texture. Powerful and firm, with a fruit-driven, austere aftertaste and a long finish.

Sottimano bottles five single-cru Barbarescos: Cottà, Currà, Fausoni, Pajoré and Basarin. This Magnum holds 1500 millilitres.