If you love Nebbiolo but want something a little more perfumed and approachable than Barolo, Barbaresco is the answer, and our pick is from Cecilia Monte. The Serracapelli cru was in fact the wine that first convinced us to start a wine importing business.
What makes Barbaresco special?
Like Barolo, Barbaresco is 100% Nebbiolo from Piedmont, so you get the same roses, red cherries and fine tannins. It tends to be a fraction softer and quicker to open up, which makes it a lovely way into the grape, though the best examples still age beautifully for many years.
Our Barbaresco: from Cecilia Monte
Cecilia farms vines at the northern tip of the Barbaresco region, and her wines are wonderfully expressive. Expect dried rose petals and forest floor, along with bay leaves, white pepper, black and red cherries. There is often some preserved fruit, think blackberry jam, stewed plums and dried figs. There is well-integrated oak and a hint of charred cedar, and with a couple of hours of air the older bottles start showing truffle, leather and earth. She makes several single-vineyard versions, and you can taste how each site changes the wine: the floral, fruit-driven Serracapelli, the spice-and-herb San Giuliano, and the tightly wound, age-worthy Dedicato a Paolo, named for Cecilia's father who identified the best plot within their Serracapelli holdings.
Why buy Barbaresco from Cecilia Monte?
Because it is Nebbiolo of real class from a grower who makes it herself, and it is a name your friends almost certainly will not have in their cellars. It is also one of our women-made wines, something we go out of our way to support. For the firmer, more structured side of Nebbiolo, our Cagliero Barolo is the natural next bottle.
How to buy
We sell in mixed sixes with free delivery. Barbaresco is glorious with food. Cecilia's pairs beautifully with duck, red meat and, being Barbaresco, anything with truffles. In hot weather we hold shipping back to protect the wine.
FAQ
What is the best Barbaresco in Australia? We import Cecilia Monte's Barbaresco, a women-made wine from the northern tip of the region, in several single-vineyard bottlings.
Is Barbaresco the same grape as Barolo? Yes, both are 100% Nebbiolo from Piedmont. Barbaresco is often a little more approachable in its youth.
How long does Barbaresco age? The best examples age for many years. Cecilia Monte's drink well young but will build their quality for decades.
What food goes with Barbaresco? Duck, red meat and anything with truffles.