First Offer: 95-point Vintage Barbaresco!
Our long-awaited shipment from Italy has FINALLY arrived! One of the first wines I want to focus on from this glorious new collection comes from one of the most important vintages for its region in years. I’m talking about the all-important 2016 Barbaresco harvest. Now if you follow such things, I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know: 2016 for Barbaresco is thrilling! But for those new to the game – and to offer some support to my claim – I’m going to share some abbreviated notes from Mr. Piedmonte himself, Antonio Galloni.
“Releases are always staggered in Barbaresco. I reviewed a number of 2016s last year, and complete my coverage of the wines this report. Just as I had expected, 2016 has turned out to be a truly magnificent vintage. Last year, I wrote, ‘The 2016s, wines from a potentially historic vintage, may very well put Barbaresco on the map big time. As I traveled from producer to producer, I experienced that sense of excitement and energy I always feel when in the presence of important vintages and wines.’ I feel exactly the same way today.” – Antonio Galloni, Vinous
My estate is known as Piazzo. Established through marriage in 1960, the husband and wife team of Armando Piazzo and Gemma Veglia had the foresight to lay down multiple vines of Nebbiolo, one small plot at a time – when most were abandoning Piedmonte for the cities – until they reached both critical mass as well as sufficient vine age for bottling. Incredible farmers, organic long before it was en vogue, the Piazzo family would release their first Nebbiolo in 1978 – bottled as one of the finest Barbaresco of its time. For 40 years now, Piazzo has quietly bottled a very small production of award winning Barbaresco and multiple other Piedmontese wines that are the darling of European collectors. Now it’s YOUR turn!
This 2016 Barbaresco is everything you’d expect from one of my selections from such a perfect vintage. From the hillside vineyard of Treiso (Produttori del Barbaresco neighboring), 100% Nebbiolo, the wine evolves for at least 9 months in large oak casks. Several months follow in the bottle. The color is an intense ruby red with garnet highlights. On the nose we have complex fruity notes of red berries, cherry coulee and jam, with floral hints of withered violets and spices. The palate is warm and enveloping, richly tannic and long, with a decadent, aromatic finish.
I can’t say enough about this family and their striking 2016 Barbaresco. Let this newsletter serve as your invitation to dive in. The comparisons to Produttori del Barbaresco are not by accident. The only real difference? Size.
2016 Piazzo Barbaresco — $29.99