Cecilia Monte Barbaresco DOCG "San Giuliano" 2019 750mL

Barbaresco from the San Giuliano cru circling the North West of Neive. If the Serracapelli from Cecilia Monte is full of floral and fruit aromas, with accents of spice, the San Giuliano reverses that balance, bringing herbs and spice to the forefront. On opening there’s loads of cherry, blueberries, olives, delicate balsamic and truffle, but with some air, the big tannins become silky and the herbs and spices jump out. Cecilia says the San Giuliano is a slightly cooler micro-climate than Serracapelli and so the longer ripening season helps to produce more approachable tannins earlier in its life. For that reason she prefers to use all large format oak for this wine. Once it’s had a few hours to open up, you’ll pick out a veritable spice cupboard of flavour: pepper, star anise, bay leaf, thyme, fennel, and dried rosemary are all prominent.

We found it most expressive 2-3 hours after opening and enjoyed it with porchetta and duck fat roast potatoes. The herbs and spices in the porchetta was a particularly lucky but perfect pairing. If you prefer tertiary notes you can hold onto this one for a while, but we think with those soft tannins it’s already in a great drinking window.