Wine Advisor
Bruno Rocca, Barbaresco Rabaja 2019
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2019 Barbaresco Rabajà comes across as quite delicate and shy. I had hoped the 2019 would open more over the last year, but that has not happened, at least not yet. Even so, there is good energy and plenty of drive. The 2019 is marked by a distinctly red-toned fruit profile. A whole range of floral, savory and citrus accents add complexity through to the finish. This fruit came in on October 16, late by today's standards.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2019 Barbaresco Rabajà is quite closed at this stage. There is plenty of energy and drive, but the mid-palate is quite shy. A wine of reserve, the 2019 is going to need time to flesh out. There is plenty to look forward to.
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The 2019 Barbaresco Rabajà shows more heft and concentration next to the Currà. The site has white and gray marl soils. This wine reveals a beautiful bouquet with dark currant, plum, iron ore and evident spice with hints of tobacco leaf. You also detect a hint of white pepper. This more robust style gives Rabajà bigger pairing potential with meat dishes and some of the traditional wintery foods of Piedmont, like stracotto di Fassona (braised beef). Production is 6,000 bottles.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Subtle aromas of red berries, tobacco and fine tea leaves with nutmeg and pink peppercorns. Polished and refined on the palate with a medium body and massive, velvety but weightless tannins. Dry and lengthy finish with hints of crushed stones. Drink from 2026.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2019 Barbaresco Rabajà is quite closed at this stage. There is plenty of energy and drive, but the mid-palate is quite shy. A wine of reserve, the 2019 is going to need time to flesh out. There is plenty to look forward to.
About the Producer
Bruno Rocca is a critically well-regarded, family-owned wine estate based in the Barbaresco region of Piedmont, in northwest Italy. It makes wines from various Piemontese appellations and varieties but is best known for its complex, refined, aromatic Nebbiolo wines from the Barbaresco DOCG. For many decades the family operated a mixed farm, but the modern estate began to take shape in 1958, when the family moved from the centre of Barbaresco to the south of the prized Rabajà zone and bought some prime vineyards. Initially, the harvested grapes were sold to the Barbaresco co-operative. This continued until 1978, when Bruno Rocca took over the estate and made the first wines under the family name. In the 1990s, the winery gained an international reputation and began to acquire further vineyards. In all, there are about 15 hectares (37 acres) of estate vineyards, including the 3.5-hectare (8.6-acre) plot in Rabajà (where there is also some Dolcetto) and plots in four further Barbaresco crus (vineyards), with some Chardonnay and Barbera alongside the Nebbiolo. Further from home, the company owns three hectares (7.5 acres) in the Monferrato Astigiano area, devoted to Barbera d'Asti. The winemaking style at Bruno Rocca is generally regarded as "modernist". Barbaresco grapes are fermented in wooden vats, with stainless steel tanks used for other wines. Individual vineyards are vinified separately, with larger vineyards divided into plots. Fermentations use native yeasts and have medium-to-long maceration times (on skins). Grapes are destemmed prior to ferment although ferments are almost entirely whole grapes (i.e. the grapes are not crushed following destemming), with delicate pumpovers and no punchdowns. The aim is to keep skins as intact as possible until the fermented wine is run off or pressed. Thereafter, aging takes place in carefully specified French oak barriques and larger barrels (tonneaux).
