Barbaresco: The Queen of Piedmont
A hilly, pastoral region in northwestern Italy, often foggy in autumn. Piedmont lies at the foot of the mountains. That, by the way, is the literal meaning of the name.
Between 1304 and 1309 the Bolognese senator Pietro de’ Crescenzi completed his treatise Ruralia commoda, the “Book of Rural Benefits”. Charles V commissioned a French translation in 1373. It was printed in Latin in 1471. The treatise became the first systematic text on agriculture in Europe. About 57 editions appeared in Latin, Italian, French and German, and two in Polish.
It is on the pages of this treatise that the Nebbiolo di Barbaresco grape from Piedmont is first mentioned.
The name Nebbiolo comes from nebbia, “fog”. Ripe berries are covered with a thin bloom that looks like a haze. And in autumn Piedmont really is foggy, just when it is time to harvest the late-ripening Nebbiolo. Local growers call it Chiavennasca.
A temperamental variety
Nebbiolo is fussy. It likes clay or limestone soil and sunny slopes. It flowers early and ripens late. It struggles to reach full ripeness, and yields are low. Outside Piedmont it is hardly grown at all: the climate is too varied and the variety too demanding.
But Nebbiolo conveys the features of terroir (the combined effect of soil, climate and slope) remarkably precisely. Different plots give completely different wines. The direct witnesses are Barolo and Barbaresco: single-variety dry red wines made only from Nebbiolo.
For Barbaresco, though, the grapes are grown in the warm, dry southern zone, east of the Tanaro river, at an altitude of 200–400 meters. For Barolo, they are grown much farther north and higher up. The river softens the climate, speeds up ripening and gives the wine a fruitier, less aggressive profile.
All Nebbiolo plantations in the Langhe zone are protected by UNESCO as part of the World Heritage site “Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato”.
From sweet to dry
In fairness, Barbaresco became dry only at the end of the 19th century. Before that, Nebbiolo di Barbaresco was made exclusively as a sweet wine.
In 1881 a young agronomist from Modena, Domizio Cavazza, was appointed director of the Royal Enological School of Alba. In 1886 he bought a farm with a vineyard and planted Nebbiolo. The birth year of dry Barbaresco is considered to be 1894, when Cavazza founded the Cantina Sociale di Barbaresco, the first winery in the area.
Development was interrupted by phylloxera and the First World War. The revival began in the 1950s, and in 1958 the cooperative Produttori del Barbaresco was created: 51 family farms and more than 100 hectares of premium vineyards. In the best years they release nine single-vineyard Barbarescos from classic crus: Asili, Rabajà, Pora, Montestefano, Ovello, Pajè, Montefico, Muncagota and Rio Sordo.
In 1966 Barbaresco received DOC status, and in 1980 it was upgraded to DOCG, at the same time as Barolo. In 2007 the MGA (Menzioni Geografiche Aggiuntive) system was introduced: 66 officially recognized crus, whose names are shown on labels.
Taste and aging
Nebbiolo must contains a lot of acids, tannins and extract. At first the taste is harsh, and the wine definitely needs time.
Under DOCG rules, Barbaresco is aged for at least 26 months, of which at least 9 are in oak barrels. Barbaresco Riserva requires 50 months, including 9 in oak. Although such wines are meant to be drunk at 5 years and older, their cellaring potential reaches 20–25 years.
An elegant Barbaresco can boast a spicy bouquet, perfumed sweetness and a soft taste. Young, it shows sour cherry, plum and violet. Mature, it gives truffle, leather and spices.
The signature of Barbaresco is notes of sun-warmed tree resin and rose. You won’t find that in any other wine. With age the wine changes color from deep ruby to sparkling garnet, but stays transparent.
It pairs well with cheese and meat.
Key producers
Among the iconic names are Gaja, who changed the idea of Barbaresco in the 1960s and 70s; Bruno Giacosa, a master of precision and balance; Roagna, an advocate of traditional methods; and the cooperative Produttori del Barbaresco itself, proving that collective winemaking is capable of the highest quality.