Wine Advisor
Bruno Rocca, Barbaresco Rabaja 2022
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2022 Barbaresco Rabajà is dark, exotic and beguiling. Black cherry, plum, graphite, lavender, spice and menthol infuse the 2022 with gorgeous classicism. Dynamic and expressive, the 2022 is exceptionally beautiful. All the breadth and virile intensity of Rabajà emerge with time. It will be interesting to see where this goes.
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The Bruno Rocca 2022 Barbaresco Rabajà was a little closed or shy at my first sitting, especially compared to the much more open Currà and Marcorino, and that's often the character of this celebrated MGA, which consistently produces age-worthy wines. However, I came back to the bottle a short while later, and it had become much more expressive. Sourced from 55-year-old vines rooted in tuffaceous, clay-rich and limestone soils, it reveals that distinctive white chalky mineral note on the finish, and it's nice to see it so clearly, despite a vintage that carries more fruit weight overall. The tannins are a bit firmer in texture, but I love that tension. This wine really stood out, especially for the lively energy of the mouthfeel. Some 6,000 bottles were made.
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).
