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2017 Giuseppe Cortese Barbaresco Rabaja'

2017 Giuseppe Cortese Barbaresco Rabaja'

96 JD

Featured Review
The 2017 Barbaresco Rabaja' is smoky, with notes of licorice, red plum, and stony earth. Generous fresh cherry fruit fills the palate up front, with dried bitter herbs and saline minerality. It has an elegant structure and a streamlined mouthfeel, with fine tannins and freshness on the finish. Drink 2022-2036. Jeb Dunnuck

Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JD

Critic Reviews

The 2017 Barbaresco Rabaja' is smoky, with notes of licorice, red plum, and stony earth. Generous fresh cherry fruit fills the palate up front, with dried bitter herbs and saline minerality. It has an elegant structure and a streamlined mouthfeel, with fine tannins and freshness on the finish. Drink 2022-2036.

Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JD
The floral character to the ripe, pretty fruit is very persuasive, as is the minerality to the wine. Medium to full body, very fine tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Really racy and fine-grained. Drink in 2022 and onwards.

James Suckling | 95 JS
Classic Nebbiolo aromas of rose, violet and woodland berry shape the enticing nose along with whiffs of truffle and crushed mint. Full bodied and elegantly structured, the smooth, delicious palate boasts juicy black cherry, crushed raspberry, star anise and Alpine herb alongside velvety tannins. Surprisingly fresh acidity for the hot vintage keeps it beautifully balanced. Drink 2021–2029.

Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE
Elegant, gentle and expressive, with cherry, strawberry, floral and iron flavors supported by a solid structure. Closes up a little on the finish, with a long aftertaste of fruit and mineral. Best from 2023 through 2042. 1,420 cases made, 300 cases imported.

Wine Spectator | 93 WS
The 2017 Barbaresco Rabajà is a very pretty and expressive wine. Blood orange, cedar, mint, sweet red cherry and licorice are all layered together. Medium in body, with terrific depth as well as nuance, the 2017 is understated, classy and polished to the core. In 2017, Cortese did not bottle their flagship Riserva, instead all of the best fruit went into the straight Barbaresco Rabajà. I won't be surprised if the 2017 eventually turns out even better than this note suggests. Today, it is really quite lovely. Pier Carlo Cortese gave the 2017 22 months in cask.

Antonio Galloni | 92 AG
Because no Riserva was bottled in 2017, Rabajà fruit went to this wine instead. The Giuseppe Cortese 2017 Barbaresco Rabajà offers tart fruit aromas of white cherry, red currant and blue flower. There are pretty dustings of crushed stone, light smoke and camphor ash. This is a lean and silky wine that offers a streamlined mouthfeel framed by linear and powdery tannins. The wine sees fruit sourced from a larger span of the Rabajà cru, spanning some four hectares. The finished wine ages in Slavonian oak casks for 22 months, plus 14 months in glass. Some 17,000 bottles will be released in September 2020.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

Wine Details for 2017 Giuseppe Cortese Barbaresco Rabaja'

Type of Wine Barbaresco : A good Barbaresco traditionally conjures a perfume of powerful floral aroma, and massages your tastebuds with gentle violets and roses creating a juicy burst of cherry and truffle. If you decide to let the wine age, it can develop smokey, earthy notes that round out the experience beautifully. No one is left indifferent after tasting one of these masterpieces, we can assure you of that.
Varietal Nebbiolo : Nebbiolo is the superstar grape variety and driving force behind the top-quality red wines of northwestern Italy. The Italian winegrowing appellation of Piedmont is covered by a sea of Nebbiolo grape vines. It is the undisputed king of grapes in the twin hillside villages of Barolo and Barbaresco, where some of the world’s most coveted wines hail from.

Quality over quantity is the motto for this subtly powerful grape. A mere 5,500 hectares of Nebbiolo are cultivated around the world, of which, more than 4,000 are found in Langhe and Roero. The varietal has been growing here since the 1st century and has been called Nebbiolo since the 1200’s. Like most ancient grape varietals, there are many speculations as to its true origin, but what is certain is that in the hills of Langhe and Roero, Nebbiolo has found its ideal environment.

Unlike Cabernet Sauvignon which is a versatile grape, Nebbiolo has not thrived when planted in wine regions outside of northern Italy. Nebbiolo is more like the finicky Pinot Noir: difficult to grow and highly reflective of terroir. The varietal thrives on calcareous marl, a lime-rich mudstone that is found on the right back of the Tanaro River (home to Barolo and Barbaresco) where it grows best in its warm climate and ample sunlight. The growing conditions in the hilly areas of Barolo and Barbaresco are optimal and produce some of the most sought after wines not only in Italy, but in the world.

The Nebbiolo vine buds earlier than most grapes grown in Piedmont but harvested last. The berries do not appear until long after flowering, making it very susceptible to poor weather conditions. The name Nebbiolo is thought to have come from the Italian word for fog, nebbia, which is common during the fall when the local hillsides are covered in a ghostly haze.

The iron fist in a velvet glove, which is a witty slogan for the wine of Barolo, can aptly be used to define the Nebbiolo grape itself. The thin-skinned, light colored grape packs a punch, producing wines that are light ruby when young and fades to a pale garnet when older. This characteristic should not be mistaken as watery; wine produced from Nebbiolo is super concentrated and flavorful with high acidity and tannins. When properly vinified, the best vintages will last for decades.

Despite the challenges of this fussy grape, some growers in the “New World” are trying their hand at harvesting Nebbiolo. In South Australia young producers are making wines that are fruiter and less tannic than their Italian counterparts. This novel take on the Italian grape has prompted California, Chile and South Africa to begin small plantings of Nebbiolo.

The iron fist in a velvet glove, the undisputed king of Piedmont and the deceptively powerful Nebbiolo grape may be limited in quantity, much-coveted, nearly exclusive to Italy, demands aging and can sometimes command high prices; the wait, the price and the difficulty in finding it is rewarded with one of the greatest wines made from the mighty Nebbiolo grape varietal.

Country Italy : Italy is renowned as one of the world’s greatest gastronomic havens; from certified Prosciutto di Parma to the sea-side seafood eateries on the island of Sicily. However, this epicurean experience could not possibly be as hedonistic without the ethereal combination of the country’s plethora of fine wines. It seems unfair that a nation should be able to boast, both, some of the world’s greatest cuisine as well as its greatest wines. Italian wine is one of the most sought after in the world, and has become the second most produced in the world, behind only France.



Stretching an impressive 736 miles from northern Italy to the peninsula’s southern tip, the country’s geography generates an enormous array of topography, climate and soil structure. This is an extremely important quality of its winegrowing and making industry which lays claim to nearly 550 different grape varietals, which all desire their own necessities, in terms of terroir and climate.



The still red wines of Italy truly characterize the nation’s vast and expansive terroir; Nebbiolo dominates Piedmont, where Barolo and Barbaresco reign king and queen of the region’s production. Hailing from Brunello di Montalcino in Tuscany, the rockstar Sangiovese grape has become synonymous with greatness. Vin Santo sweet wines have taken on a mighty feat of competing with the glorious wines of Sauternes, and of course, Prosecco. Prosecco, located in Trieste (northeast Italy) and its creation of luxuriously effervescent styles of wine has become Italy’s answer to Champagne. The Glera grape variety, which has become synonymous with the name Prosecco, is the main ingredient and is beloved in the appellation where the village of Prosecco’s name has become world renowned.



The blurred boundary between Italy and the countries of Slovenia and Austria, where German influence still resonates through Friuli wines. The prevalence of Riesling and other such grape varietals is high in this region and have become extremely popular on today’s market.



With nearly 702,000 hectares of grapevines covering the massive and diverse landscape, Italy’s annual average of 48.3 million hectoliters of wine production is second only to France in terms of volume and Spain in terms of hectares of vines. The country is vast and overwhelming when it comes to the culinary arts, but perhaps even this is overshadowed by its production of some of the world’s most sought after wines, whether the omnipresent Chianti to the highly collectible and sought after Amarone della Valpolicalla.


Subregion Barbaresco
Appellation Barbaresco
Climat/Vineyard Rabaja

Overview

Producer Giuseppe Cortese

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