2014 - Barbaresco Rabaja Riserva, Produttori del Barbaresco

The 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà shows excellent textural richness with dark fruit, followed by notes of tobacco and tilled earth. Black truffle and dried fruit converge on the bouquet to add to the intensity. You really appreciate the freshness and sheer power of this succulent, well-structured and medium to full-bodied Barbaresco. This one's the real deal.

The 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà is powerful, dense and explosive, with tremendous intensity of fruit and structure. The Rabajà is dark and potent – as all these wines are – but the tannins and acids give the wine considerable tension and energy. The Rabajà is a powerful, towering wine endowed with massive structure and intensity to burn. Like so many of these wines, the Rabajà is somber and brooding in feel.

Vineyard size: 3.7 ha (9.1 acres). Vineyard exposure: south-west. Soil: limestone with sandy veins. Vinification: fermentation at 30 °C (85 °F), 28 days’ skin contact, malolactic completed. Ageing: 36 months in large oak barrels and 12 months in bottle. Bottling date: April 2018. Total production: 17,304 bottles and 1,348 magnums. This is bottle number 4326. A shade deeper and a little more developed than the Muncagota Riserva. Deep nose of strawberry and iron with a cool edge in spite of its concentration. Minerally raspberry fruit with a linear core of acidity and more than a hint of iron. Firm layer of coating tannins while the linear, perfumed raspberry fruit is elegant as well as concentrated. Gorgeous vibrant finish. (WS)