Rivella Serafino Barbaresco Montestefano 2020 750ml

The 2020 Barbaresco Montestefano is gorgeous. Sweet scents of pipe tobacco, spice, dried herbs, mint, leather and crushed autumn leaves all grace this exquisite, super-classic Barbaresco. The 2020 offers a beguiling mix of the slightly oxidative character that is typical here with bright Nebbiolo acids that add a counterpoint. The 2020 can be enjoyed now with aeration. A bottle tasted that had been opened 24 hours in advance was nicely softened, while a freshly opened bottle showed a bit more nervous energy. The overall flavor profile was pretty similar.

• Country: Italy
• Region: Piedmont
• Appellation: Barbaresco
• Size: 750ml
• Color: Red

Varietal

Nebbiolo

The Nebbiolo grape varietal is widely understood to be the fruit responsible for Italy’s finest aged wines. However, its popularity and reliability as a grape which gives out outstanding flavors and aromas has led it to be planted in many countries around the world, with much success. These purple grapes are distinguishable by the fact that they take on a milky dust as they begin to reach maturity, leading many to claim that this is the reason for their unusual name, which means ‘fog’ in Italian. Nebbiolo grapes produce wines which have a wide range of beautiful and fascinating flavors, the most common of which are rich, dark and complex, such as violet, truffle, tobacco and prunes. They are generally aged for many years to balance out their characteristics, as their natural tannin levels tend to be very high.