Sottimano Barbaresco Curra 2016
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Winemaker Notes
The Currà vineyard is located in the town of Neive, which is very close to the area of Barbaresco; this results in a wine rich in tannis, like all the wines from Barbaresco, but with the fruity, charming elegance of Neive. This wine is released one year after the other crus to better express these components.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Showing darker and slightly more saturated fruit, the Sottimano 2016 Barbaresco Currá is a more robust and amply endowed wine compared to the other single-vineyard expressions in this portfolio. Drawing its fruit from the village of Neive, the Currá offers ripe berry and redcurrant with softer tones of spice and tilled earth. The wine's concentration and richness are an absolute pleasure, and you could direct this bottle to a heavier roasted meat dish when the time is right. Fruit is drawn from a 1.5-hectare plot in Neive.
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Wine & Spirits
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.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Barbaresco Curra is ripe with brushed leather, sun-baked red plum, menthol, and cedar. The palate has balanced structure, with ripe cherry, black truffle, and dried orange, and firm tannic grip on the finish. Drink 2023-2038.
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Wine Spectator
A beefy style, this red buries its cherry, iron and menthol flavors in a matrix of thick tannins. The vivid acidity works in tandem, yet in the end, there's an equilibrium of all the elements, with the fruit reemerging. Best from 2025.
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Wine Enthusiast
Menthol, ripe dark-skinned fruit and star anise aromas mingle with espresso on this linear, full-bodied red. The palate is structured and still youthfully austere, featuring Marasca cherry, pomegranate, licorice and French oak sensations. Assertive, close-grained tannins provide firm support. Give it time to fully develop. Drink 2026–2036.
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Robert
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Andrea Sottimano and his father Rino produce wines of outstanding quality from thirteen lovingly cared for hectares in the Cotta, Curra, Fausoni, Pajore and Basarin crus in the Treiso and Neive townships. Their Barbarescos are elegant, evocative, subtle yet hearty. To taste these crus side-by-side is to reply with a resounding yes to skeptics of terroir that question whether differences of only 200 meters does matter! Their approach if one of minimal intervention: indigenous yeasts, no fining or filtering. Each of their four crus Barbarescos are given the same treatment to allow the uniqueness of each cru to express itself. Fermentation is done in oak, of which about 30% is new, followed by 18-20 months in neutral barriques. Every year they produce around 85,000 bottles.
Sottimano is firmly convinced that everything in the vineyards should be done in a serious and respectful way, with the only target of preserving the delicate balance between soils and the ecosystem.
Starting from the begin, together with many other wineries of this region, they have begun to fight the traditional diseases of the vines with natural, environmentally friendly products, and to avoid any kind of herbicides and pesticides
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
A wine that most perfectly conveys the spirit and essence of its place, Barbaresco is true reflection of terroir. Its star grape, like that in the neighboring Barolo region, is Nebbiolo. Four townships within the Barbaresco zone can produce Barbaresco: the actual village of Barbaresco, as well as Neive, Treiso and San Rocco Seno d'Elvio.
Broadly speaking there are more similarities in the soils of Barbaresco and Barolo than there are differences. Barbaresco’s soils are approximately of the same two major soil types as Barolo: blue-grey marl of the Tortonion epoch, producing more fragile and aromatic characteristics, and Helvetian white yellow marl, which produces wines with more structure and tannins.
Nebbiolo ripens earlier in Barbaresco than in Barolo, primarily due to the vineyards’ proximity to the Tanaro River and lower elevations. While the wines here are still powerful, Barbaresco expresses a more feminine side of Nebbiolo, often with softer tannins, delicate fruit and an elegant perfume. Typical in a well-made Barbaresco are expressions of rose petal, cherry, strawberry, violets, smoke and spice. These wines need a few years before they reach their peak, the best of which need over a decade or longer. Bottle aging adds more savory characteristics, such as earth, iron and dried fruit.