2014 Barbaresco Valeirano
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Tasting notes
From the Treiso township, the 2014 Barbaresco Valeirano Vürsù represents a stylistic marriage of the elegant Gallina and the more powerful Starderi crus (both in the Neive township). This is a compact and fine Nebbiolo with a mid-weight style and slightly sweet tannins. In terms of its flavor profile, the wine shows savory spice and barbecue smoke followed by blackberry and dried cherry. In a sense, this wine borrows the best attributes of the other two Barbaresco expressions also reviewed in this report.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
La Spinetta's 2014 Barbaresco Vigneto Valeirano is a dark, brooding wine. Because of its depth and overall structure, the oak element is less evident here than it is in some of the other wines. Smoke, licorice, tar, spice, black cherry and rose petal gradually emerge from a wall of firm, imposing tannins. Readers will have to be patient with the 2014, but it is a striking wine in the making. As is often the case, the Valeirano has a distinctive element of austerity and nerve.
Intense aromas of tar and dried strawberry with some walnut shell. Full body, chewy and powerful. Needs some years to soften. Shows excellent quality for this difficult vintage. Drink in 2019.
The 2014 Barbaresco Vigneto Valeirano is dark, virile and brooding. Structurally, it is more similar to the Starderi than the Gallina, but the darker fruit profile, and spiced, mentholated notes are all super-typical of the wines from Treiso. Black cherry, plum, cinnamon, leather and menthol infuse a finish that gains in power and intensity as the wine sits in the glass. Gravitas, power and weight are the signatures.