2013 Barbaresco Rabaja

Here is another first for Bruno Rocca: a Riserva expression from the family's most celebrated vineyard site. The 2013 Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà is a phenomenal achievement that flaunts an impeccable degree of focus and precision. We tasted this wine from two bottles, and this review is based on the second sample, which was superior to the first. The results here are articulate and coherent. Aromas of dark fruit, spice, tar and crushed mineral are tied tightly together with strength and harmony. This cooler vintage shows some tightness in terms of the wine's tannic structure, and I'm sure we will feel that tightness for years to come. This is a bottle that needs more time in the cellar.

Rocca's 2013 Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà is just as compelling from bottle as it was from cask. Deep, penetrating aromatics meld into a core of dark red fruit in a deep, translucent Barbaresco endowed with nuance and pedigree. A wine of dimension, breadth and power, the 2013 has it all. The tannins need time to soften, but that won't come as a surprise. Hints of kirsch, rose petal and mint add shades of complexity. There is an element of classicism in the 2013 that is so well suited to Rabajà as a site.

Here is an impressive achievement from Bruno Rocca. The 2013 Barbaresco Rabajà is fragrant and intense, but it never goes overboard. This wine expertly walks a fine line between understated elegance and varietal exuberance. The fruit is compact and sharp with aromas of cassis, white truffle and pressed violets. The wine leaves a clean and silky impression in the mouth.