Albino Rocca
An Essence of Barbaresco: The ‘Deeply Impressive’ 2021 Nebbiolos
“I was deeply impressed with the 2021 Barbarescos at Albino Rocca. The wines are aromatic, vibrant and bristling with site character. Carlo Castellengo gave the 2021s three to four weeks on the skins. A few of the wines see submerged cap maceration, including the new Riserva Ronchi and the Angelo (which has no new release this year)—the wines age for just under two years in cask prior to bottling. More than anything else, these wines are defined by superb purity.” Antonio Galloni, Vinous
“Tasting the newly released 2021 Barbarescos I kept thinking of that famous Liberace quote, ‘Too much of a good thing is wonderful’, which he actually borrowed from Mae West. Whatever its origin, it fully applies to the wines I tasted from this vintage… I would even say that this just-released vintage reminds me a little of both 2016 and 2019. That is not hyperbole, because while tasting the 99 wines I handed out high scores like I was Father Christmas,” Walter Speller, Decanter Magazine
It’s no secret that 2021 was a dazzling vintage for Piemonte. In the glass, this translates as manna from heaven for Nebbiolo lovers, and a set of wines that could be grouped with 2001, 2010 and 2016 as one of the most exciting since the start of the millennium. At their best, the wines deliver vivid purity, wonderful length of flavour and alluring elegance. In other words, these exceptionally beautiful wines show the heights Barbaresco can reach.
Without opening the book, the keys to the quality of these wines lie in the year’s good water reserves and lower-than-average yields of small, intensely flavoured berries. In some areas, bunches were so small that growers remarked their Nebbiolo looked like the much smaller Barbera clusters! Then, the cool nights and a long ripening phase ensured an ideal balance of fruit intensity, bright, mouthwatering acidity, and fine tannic ballast (without those tannins being too austere). Albino Rocca’s Barbaresco have captured the essence of the vintage through a winemaking style rooted in tradition. With ripeness no longer difficult to achieve in the vineyard, Carlo Castellengo’s winemaking is ever more geared towards transparency and finesse. From the bold fruit expression of Neive to Barbaresco’s elegant, rounded tannins, and to the sparkling purity of Treiso’s cooler terroirs, the differences between this grower’s Barbaresco have never been more vivid than in 2021.
In his annual report, Gallini notes, “The team at Albino Rocca made some of their finest Barbarescos ever in 2021.” Take that to the bank: every wine is a model of its vineyard, or vineyards in the case of the great value Barbaresco classico. Speaking of value, don’t miss the 2023 Nebbiolo d’Alba. Many of our growers talk highly of the 2023 vintage; this delicious wine holds the reason why.
