Wine Description
This outstanding Barbaresco is made from 100% Nebbiolo grown in the legendary Rabajà vineyard, one of the premiere vineyards in all of Piedmont thanks to the clayey and mineral soils and its elevation of almost 1,000 feet above sea level. The grapes are harvested in October. After crushing, they are macerated for 20 days. Multiple daily punch-downs provide greater color and aroma extraction. To ensure extra elegance and finesse, the wine is matured in large oak casks for 30 months and released after eight months of additional aging in the bottle.
Tasting Notes
Giacosa’s Barbaresco Rabajà is intense ruby-red in color with elegant orange hues. The nose is reminiscent of ripe red fruits, wild berries, plum, spices, caramel, mocha, and licorice. On the palate it is dry, but extraordinarily full and soft with sweet tannins. Imposing, austere and long-lived, this is a collector’s pick, and a wine of grand personality.
Reviews
Wine Spectator - December 15, 2008
“There’s wonderful perfumes in this young Barbaresco, with flowers and ripe berries, as well as strawberry. Full-bodied, chewy and long. Massive on the finish. A superb wine...."
95 points
Wine Advocate - 10/31/2008
Issue #179
“The 2005 Barbaresco Rabaja is the densest and richest of these 2005 Barbarescos. Because it is aged in a slightly smaller cask, the wine shows an explosive personality along with some oak nuances that require bottle age to settle down. This muscular Barbaresco resonates on the palate with layers of spiced, mentholated dark cherries, minerals and licorice. It remains a dense, structured and primary wine in need of serious bottle age for the firm tannins to melt away. This, too, is a sublime wine from Bruno Giacosa.”
94+ points
