2017 Barbaresco Rabaja

Barbaresco. Tasted blind. Mid ruby with orange rim. Savoury cherry fruit with a hint of cumin and raw meat. Succulent acidity that is a little mouth-watering, and ripe, coating tannins. Generous fruit on the finish, while the salty, saffron hints provide a minerally edge. (WS)

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.

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.