Pajoré Barbaresco DOCG 2023

Noble understatement: a finely drawn yet powerful wine with a delicately fruity nature. The nose shows transparent, shimmering red fruit, underpinned by a spicy, woody note reminiscent of sandalwood, together with mild spices such as white pepper, allspice and vadouvan. On top, hollyhock and violet, a touch of mint and liquorice. Delicate, yet persistent and assertive in its aromatics.

The Pajoré cru lies in Treiso, with a southwest exposure, on soils of calcareous marl and clay. The old vines, planted at around 400 metres altitude, consistently yield low amounts of small, concentrated bunches. Pajoré is one of five single vineyards that Sottimano farms in the communes of Neive and Treiso; Rino Sottimano planted most of them in the 1970s and 80s, and many vines are now fifty to sixty years old.

Nebbiolo, selectively hand-harvested, spontaneously fermented with indigenous yeasts, followed by skin contact, partly with a submerged cap. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel, maturation lasts around 20 to 24 months in wood, a small portion of it new. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. 14.5% ABV, dry.

The entry remains transparent and delicate, with the powerful side emerging on the finish. Dark fruit is flanked austerely by fine-grained tannins reminiscent of tobacco and leather, which shape the pronounced texture. Powerful and firm, with a fruit-driven, austere echo and a long finish.

Andrea Sottimano leaves the Nebbiolo on the skins for up to sixty days. Malolactic fermentation only begins once the cellar naturally warms up in spring, and sometimes continues into autumn. The vineyard has been farmed without herbicides or synthetic fertilisers for over forty years; the grass between the rows is mown two to three times a year, with every other row ploughed in autumn.