Sottimano Barbaresco Cotta 2016
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Winemaker Notes
From a selection of 50-70 year old vines, this Barbaresco begins with density and impact. On the nose, the bouquet is filled with deep cherried notes, dried savory herbs, and pummeled rocks. On the palate you’ll find that the tannins that form the spine of the wine are fine-grained and the acidity offers an unexpected and refreshing lift. A long and lingering finish bursting with fruit and savory notes brings this wine full circle.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Red berry, violet, forest floor, vanilla and balsamic aromas of menthol and camphor slowly appear on this stunning, radiant red along with whiffs of charcuterie. The vibrant, focused palate is young and taut but already impeccably balanced, evoking juicy red cherry, pomegranate, star anise and cool mint framed in firm acidity and tightly knit but fine-grained tannins and vibrant acidity. It's already fantastic but will hold for even more complexity. Best 2026–2036.
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Wine & Spirits
This wine leads an impressive set of Barbaresco releases from Sottimano. It comes from a well-exposed, southwest-facing plot in Cottà, a cru in Neive that borders the Barbaresco township, where Andrea Sottimano and his father, Rino, farm vines that are 40 to 60 years old. Fermented with ambient yeasts and aged in barriques (15 percent new), the 2016 shows Neive’s power in its ample tannins and taut acidity. That structure frames its vibrant flavors, the notes of sour cherry and plum laced with lavender, mint and dark spices. It’s tight and precise, with a long, energetic finish.
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Wine Spectator
A beam of cherry courses through this rich red, shaded by floral, iron and tobacco accents. This is taut, finishing with dense tannins that make this suitable for the long haul. Shows fine balance and intensity, but patience is required. Best from 2023 through 2045.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Fun fact: The accent mark on this vineyard's original name was what the Italians call an accento acuto (accent aigu, for francophiles), as in Cottá, an unusual diacritical mark to stick over an "a" in Italian. So the opposite-slanting and more common accento grave was printed on vineyard maps and wine labels starting in the 1990s, and with all the success it has had, Sottimano thinks the normalized punctuation might actually bring good luck. This is the trademark wine of this estate for its elegance, power and finesse. With an extra gear in terms of intensity, right off the bat the 2016 Barbaresco Cottá brings fullness and generosity. There are wonderful notes of mint and licorice to it, a streamlined wine with a great deal of purity. It's got a lot of volume and even more dimension. There is also that pretty salty mineral note on the close.
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James Suckling
Combining a fragrant, floral lift of rose petals and tulips with sour cherries and darker, more herbal components of thyme and sesame, this Barbaresco delights from the get-go on the nose. Fruit and tannins are compacted together in the full-bodied center palate, giving space for the sweeping acidity to test the edges and impart form and structure. This is all about finesse and beauty. Drink from 2022.
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2020- Vinous
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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.