Giuseppe Cortese Rabaja Barbaresco 2016
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Winemaker Notes
Unfiltered to preserve its richness, this remarkably elegant Barbaresco offers concentrated aromas of raspberries, roses, violets, leather and spice. Full-bodied with robust flavor and firm tannins.
This Barbaresco pairs well with roasted meat or wild game dishes.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of underbrush, camphor, violet, dark culinary spices, new leather and dark-skinned fruit lead the way. The structured, full-bodied palate shows juicy red cherry, raspberry, orange zest, ground clove, star anise and truffle alongside fine-grained tannins and bright acidity. It boasts elegance and structure.
Editors' Choice -
James Suckling
There are some playful, cake-like aromas here of cherry pastries, cast among a forest of cedar and cypress; they pave the way for fruitier notes of dried plums and orange peel. The acidity tension is spot-on, drawing a crystal-clear line between the undulating tannins and dynamic red fruit. The center palate is resolute and foursquare. Drink from 2022.
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Wine & Spirits
This is vibrant and refined, with black-cherry flavors that stay ripe and juicy despite the tightly wound tannins. Decant it to let the subtle spices and soft herbal notes emerge.
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Decanter
Herbaceous, smoky woodland and dark cherry notes with ripe, chewy tannins and a firm structure; long and serious.
Other Vintages
2020-
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From its 8 hectares of vineyards located in the middle of “Rabajà”, a historical cru in the Barbaresco area, Azienda Agricola Giuseppe Cortese vinifies and produces high quality wines from three generations .The Rabaja’ cru enjoys southwesterly exposure and the very best in terms of microclimate, soil and ripening, creating a product which comprises all the characteristics of a great wine.
Azienda Agricola Cortese wines are produced according to winemaking tradition using the latest technology: wines aged in Slavonian oak, wines stored in underground cellars at perfectly suitable temperatures in order to maintain the aroma and taste that characterise top quality products.
Recently the family has also opened a panoramic bed & breakfast nestled among the vineyards, these one offers one of the most striking views of the Rabajà.
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.