2017 Barbaresco Cotta Vigna Brichet

Drawing its fruit from a 2.8-hectare section of the Cottà cru in Neive with 50- to 60-year-old vines, this is a classic offering from Sottimano. The 2017 Barbaresco Cottá unfolds to beautiful intensity and depth. The Neive area suffered hail damage on April 15th, and we are lucky that this parcel was spared, enough so to render a 9,000-bottle release. This estate believes in long maceration times (the wine stays on the skins for up to 40 days) with no selected yeasts. Malolactic fermentation is allowed to happen at its own pace in French barrel, and the wine ages up to 24 months, with lees contact for about half that time. The approach is traditional and straightforward, resulting in a wine that is focused, detailed and polished with bright cherry fruit, licorice and campfire ash. I love the intensity you get here.

The 2017 Barbaresco Cottà is punchy, with terrific freshness and verve. Red toned fruit, flowers, mint and bright acids yield a decidedly delicate expression of Cottà, a Neive vineyard where the wines tend to be quite a bit bigger and richer. The 2017 needs at least a few years in bottle to soften. It is an attractive wine if enjoyed on its own terms, but is also quite different stylistically from the wines Sottimano has made here in the past.