2013 Barbaresco Ovello
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Tasting notes
Barbaresco. Tasted blind. Mid ruby. Leafy herbal cherry nose that is not yet fully open. Very slow to unfurl on the palate too and with a layer of fine, coating tannins. Lots to chew on the long finish. (WS)
Critic scores
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2013 Barbaresco Ovello is released one year after its peers. It undergoes two years of oak aging followed by 18 months of bottle rest before its commercial release. This is one of my favorite expressions from Barbaresco, and the 2013 vintage is especially beautiful and elegant. The wine offers an exceptional level of purity and finesse with light touches of wild berry, smoke, ash and balsam herb. Some 6,000 bottles were made.
Not surprisingly, the 2013 Barbaresco Ovello is the most reticent of the four Barbarescos in this tasting. Linear and a bit nervous - as wines from this site often are - the 2013 is a bundle of energy. Even so, there is more than enough depth in the fruit to balance out the wine's structural elements. All the 2013 needs is more time in bottle. Readers will have to be patient. Even so, the 2013 is likely to always remain an especially dark, somber Ovello.