The Style
– One of the Leading Neoclassical Producers
– Aromatics Are Simply Haunting
– They Make You Appreciate the Beauty of Nature
– Like Inhaling a Field of Flowers on a Perfect Spring Day
– The Finesse of the Great Wines in Our Portfolio
– Very Traditional in Profile
– The Consistent Quality of the Best Winemakers of 2022
2019 Vini Barbaglia Boca
– Compare at $50-$68 for Less Expensive Vintages
– One of the Truly Great Alto Piemonte Wines We’ve Sold
– So Nuanced
– Incredibly Haunting and Elegant
– Such a Cerebral Wine
– Nose: Absolutely Transporting
– Aromatics and Complexities of the Forest Floor
– In 2019 There Are Rich, Aromatic Cherry Fruits
– Cherry Flower, Pulverized Dried Cherries
– Licorice, Spice and Floral
– Dizzying Aromatics of Great Nebbiolo
– Palate: Like Elite Classical Barbaresco in 2016
– Really Beautiful and Intense Internal Aromatics
– Red and Black Cherries and Flowers
– Dense, Sweet, Structured and Powerful|
– So Nuanced
– Think Chambolle-Musigny from a Bertheau or Mugnier for Context
– Insane Concentration – but Not Overtly Fruited
– Compare at $50-$68 for Less Expensive Vintages
2021 Vini Barbaglia Colline Novaresi Croatina
– Soaring Aromas of Deep Purple Fruits, Plum Skins, Blackberry
– Spice, Spice Cake
– Lovely Flowers, Tree Bark and Orange Rind
– Minerals
– Palate – Insane
– Big, Amazingly Juicy
– Dense to the nth Power
– Massive Sweet Fruit Soak
– Charming and Wonderful
– Great Purity and Depth
– Superb Concentration
– Winter Arrival – A Crazy Value to Drink with Winter Food
The Two Schools of Alto Piemonte Wine
As Alto Piemonte wines have become more popular and more producers are entering the region, I’ve noticed 2 distinct styles.
– The first is a style where the fruit is a bit more forward like a well made traditional Langhe wine. The fruits normally veer towards being a bit darker. Aromatics are there but more in balance or in the background. I would include in this our own La Psigula and Il Chiosso, particularly the stunning Riservas.
– The second is more a wine where the aromatics and secondary flavors are most important. These are more like consistent versions of older Alto Piemonte wines. Yes, the fruit is there but the aromatics and secondary characteristics are the stars of the show. Much of our portfolio is in this category but Barbaglia is one of the leaders in this category along with Delsignore, Podere ai Valloni, Chiussuma and La Badina.
This second “Neoclassical” style is I think the more distinctive of the 2 from the standpoint that you can only really get this kind of Nebbiolo here and maybe a few remaining producers in the Langhe (e.g. Giacosa, our own Rocche dei Barbari) and Valtellina (Ar.Pe.Pe and Motalli Renato). I call it “Neoclassical” because they are working to assure a quality product every year. They are not just letting the grapes grow, picking at the same time and hoping for the best.
These wines are among the most gorgeous wines that we sell. It’s hard to describe it but they evoke a unique natural beauty that is very hard to put into words. Like the great wines of Burgundy and select very traditional Northern Rhone wines the aromatics are haunting. You can hardly even believe that something so beautiful exists when you smell them.
The 2019 Vintage
The Boca has the finesse of a great Barbaresco and in 2019, it is the best young Boca from that vintage I’ve tasted. It’s a marvel and an important benchmark wine in the continuing story of Alto Piemonte and Boca. But it also shows skilled winemaking with a step up in texture and quality of fruit. But the trademark finesse is here better than ever before and that is why I think it’s a benchmark. For under $50 you get potentially the best producer of a super hot and up and coming area in a top vintage that not only compares to great Langhe wines but surpasses many. The 2019 is the ultimate ringer in a great Langhe tasting. It would do so well. It blew me away like few Italian wines have recently. It was as accessible as a young Barbaglia Boca I’ve had but also has the stuffing to last 25+ years. Silvia has really upped her game. She works extremely hard and loves the region and is an ambassador for the region as much as anyone I’ve ever met. The 2019 is her masterpiece.
Wine #1
So without further ado the 2019 Vini Barbaglia Boca can be had for $43.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. This is a brilliant wine and $44 for this is just a pittance for the level of quality you are getting here. Compare at $50-$68 for less expensive vintages.
Such a brilliant nose. The nose on this wine is transporting. It carries all of the aromatics and complexities of the forest floor with hints (and eventually more than hints with a bit of air) of forest fruits. Smoke and mesquite as well. There is an unusual sparseness to the vineyards as many are in clearings you have to drive through dense forest to find. That comes across in the nose. If Nebbiolo was grown on volcanic soils surrounded by wild forest it would smell like this. But now in 2019 there are rich, aromatic cherry fruits that add a level of thrill that was not there before. Cherry flower. pulverized dried cherries. So aromatic. Licorice. Spice and floral in the background which comes to the foreground with air. Gets that dizzying. Wow the cherry is so vivid. What lift. So elegant and pure. What elegance! But has that Boca structure and tannin. So so elegant. Best young Barbaglia Boca ever.
The palate is nuanced, haunting, elegant, cerebral and just flat out gorgeous. It is dense and structured in 2019 but so refined. Yet it retains that Barbaglia prettiness. Ethereal, dense yet focused with super precise sweet black and red cherry fruit with really, really beautiful and intense internal aromatics of those red and black cherries and flowers. I cannot believe how delicate this wine is yet also dense, sweet, structured and powerful. It’s really poetry on the palate. Terrific acid balance and the traditional even more than usual Fass juiciness. Incredible sweet tannins. Super juicy. Despite its relative nuanced nature (think Chambolle-Musigny from a Bertheau or Mugnier for context) for Piedmont Nebbiolo, you can taste the concentration and structure in the wine. Terrific inner mouth aromas. Fruit and florals. Insane concentration and such a baby! So refined. Really refined tannins. Wow this is exquisite. As it opens it becomes more integrated. Terrific ripe tannins. Really refined stuff.
The tannins are so well done and perfectly ripe that the fruit and structure and tannin all meld into a harmonious whole. But with age this will be a true knockout.
It is 80% Nebbiolo 20% Vespolina and was aged for 2 years in large oak barrels and then aged 2 years in bottle.
Wine #2
The last wine is what I like to call “refined rustic.” One of the charms of Italian wine is that most of them have a sense of rusticity. Rusticity is one of those dog-whistle wine words that has a bad rap. When you say rustic to many or good with food people think it’s not good wine. Which is crazy as I’ve described wines like Pegau CDP, Monfortino and Monprivato as rustic. What does it mean? It’s means it’s rustic. Like those charming thatched cottages in England or the old stone walls you see around the Côte d’Or. That’s rustic. It can be defined as something that is made with no pretense in a plain and simple fashion. The Italians make rustic better than anyone and it’s hard to escape it even in the most celebrated wines but I think that’s what people truly love about Italian wines is the rusticity. Today wine is the epitome of all what Italy does right in the under $23 category.
I have the 2021 Vini Barbaglia Colline Novaresi Croatina today for $22.99 a bottle on a 4 pack purchase. Croatina with age! Only at Fass Selections.
This is a dark colored wine that has soaring aromas of deep purple fruits, plum skins, spice, spice cake and lovely flowers and minerals. It’s got earth. Tree bark and orange rind. Big time earth! Chewy nose if there ever was one. Also some jammy blackberry after air.
But the palate is what the story is really about. It’s insane. Big, amazingly juicy and dense to the nth power and yes, rustic! Amazing velvety tannins and out of this world, next level freshness. Massive sweet fruit soak. But so balanced and so juicy and so much deep dark fruit. It is utterly charming and wonderful. Huge purity and depth. Very dark and almost silky. Superb concentration. With a nice big pork roast or an ossubucco, this is what to choose. The age is great as it seemed to harmonize all the parts to it. It’s really something and a tremendous wine. It has ripe and juicy tannins and if one has to compare it to anything please let it be traditional old school Dolcetto from Dogliani from the standpoint of pure enjoyment.
Please call Cheryl at 949 378 5251 after emailing with your firstorder if you are a first time customer (we prefer not to receive credit card numbers over E-Mail).
OFFICE HOURS 4-7 PM
I love drinking and selecting wines – but my passion for teaching people about wine is almost as big. I’m happy to announce a block of time each day where people can call me just to chat about wine in general. These blocks are NOT intended to sell wine (I do that all day). This is to talk to me about wine pairings or great producers or how long to age wines or styles of wine making or the latest wine controversy. My goal is to help people learn more about wine and enjoy it more. Call me at 917-912-4355 from 4-7EST Monday – Friday.
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