Barbaresco, Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy
I’ve long been a fan of DeForville. To my palate, their Barbaresco Classico represents one of the great values in Piemonte. It’s no surprise when their primary fruit source is the Rabajà MGA. However, they rarely bottle a stand alone expression, though, there were some examples in the 1980’s. This is one such example.
Poured into a decanter about three hours prior to service and enjoyed over the course of two days; best on Day 1 but the little that remained in the bottle held together quite well. The 1981 “Vigneto Rabajá” pours a hazy, pale garnet with a transparent core and an orange rim; medium viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of desiccated Morello cherry, raspberry, dried roses, tar, leather, old wood, organic earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin (still!) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium. This has certainly lost some energy but it’s charming and still very much alive. Drink now.
I’ve long been a fan of DeForville. To my palate, their Barbaresco Classico represents one of the great values in Piemonte. It’s no surprise when their primary fruit source is the Rabajà MGA. However, they rarely bottle a stand alone expression, though, there were some examples in the 1980’s. This is one such example.
Poured into a decanter about three hours prior to service and enjoyed over the course of two days; best on Day 1 but the little that remained in the bottle held together quite well. The 1981 “Vigneto Rabajá” pours a hazy, pale garnet with a transparent core and an orange rim; medium viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of desiccated Morello cherry, raspberry, dried roses, tar, leather, old wood, organic earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin (still!) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium. This has certainly lost some energy but it’s charming and still very much alive. Drink now.
