Wine Advisor
Giuseppe Cortese, Barbaresco Rabaja 2012
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
I am deeply impressed by Giuseppe Cortese's 2012 Barbaresco Rabajà. Son Pier Carlo is in charge of the estate today and has continued his father's winemaking legacy. This is a delicate and feminine wine that boasts bright and pristine intensity. The bouquet incorporates floral elements of violet and pressed rose. It fuses those subdued characteristics with balanced tones of red fruit, herb, licorice and spice. This Barbaresco sees a traditional aging regime of 22 months in Slovenian oak. This is a wine of enormous beauty.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Leather, rosemary, pine, menthol and black cherries emerge from the 2012 Barbaresco Rabajà. Deceptively medium in body, this attractive, Barbaresco possesses notable depth and intensity. The 2012 isn't a huge wine, but it impresses with its gorgeous balance and pure appeal. In 2012 Cortese will not bottle a Riserva, all the best fruit went into the straight Barbaresco Rabajà. Today, the 2012 is shaping up to be a terrific wine from a mostly average vintage. I don't see the 2012 making old bones, but it should drink well pretty much upon release.
About the Producer
The wines of Giuseppe Cortese are every Piedmont aficionado’s dream. Located in the heart of the famous Rabajà zone, this small, family-owned winery, known for producing exquisitely balanced wines from the Barbaresco zone, is run by those who possess an intimate knowledge of the Nebbiolo grape. With profound respect and knowledge of the Barbaresco terroir, and long-held family traditions, Giuseppe Cortese is able to craft some of Piedmont’s most exceptional wines. A native of Barbaresco, Giuseppe Cortese began a lifelong passion for winemaking by working with his father Giacomo in the family business. After several years of experience, he realized the future of high-quality Barbaresco wines was in developing the potential of the terroir. With this in mind, Giuseppe began re-orienting the family’s wine business and remodeling the winery, improving vinification techniques, and purchasing new land among the famous Rabajà vineyards. Giuseppe’s son Piercarlo joined him in the 1990s, after graduating from the highly regarded Enological School of Alba. Today, Cortese is the typical small, family-run winery, with Giuseppe’s wife Rosella and daughter Tiziana playing active roles in commercial aspects and public relations. Attentive, rigorous care of the estate’s vineyards, strict selection of the best clusters, a traditional approach to vinification, and a gentle hand with modern techniques are the ingredients that define the unmistakable personality and unique flavors of Cortese’s wines. Before running his own winery, Giuseppe Cortese served as cellar master and vineyard manager for some of Piedmont’s most prestigious wineries. During this time, he gained invaluable knowledge of the Nebbiolo grape and how to maximize its potential in and around the Barbaresco zone. The winery is located in an underground cellar nestled in the upper hillside of the Rabajà vineyard and houses various sizes of the larger traditional botti (large barrels) used for the vinification of Nebbiolo. Cortese believes that each lot needs to be treated individually and thus requires several different sizes of aging vessels. All this attention to detail yields wines of incredible depth and balance, with a finesse that rewards the patient consumer.
