Barbaresco ‘Rabaja‘ - Nebbiolo - B.Giacosa (17)

Bruno Giacosa

Bruno Giacosa’s vinification technique has been termed “updated traditional”:
Nebbiolo grapes, for example, are picked earlier, at optimum ripeness determined by
a combination of scientific analysis and hands-on experience. The grapes are
macerated for closer to 30 days than the time-honoured 50. This timing still taps into
the power and depth of Nebbiolo but produces wines with more finesse. In
maturation, Giacosa has not been tempted towards the fashionable use of small,
225l French barriques, instead staying with huge 5,000l Slovenian and French oak
botte, many of them 25 years old

Known as the Genius of Neive, Bruno Giacosa’s mastery of the Nebbiolo grape is
recognised in Piedmont and the wider world of wine alike - although the organisation
produces more than just Barolo and Barbaresco. Bruno Giacosa sadly passed away in
January 2018. But having suffered a stroke in 2006, it is his daughter Bruna, who has
been driving this great wine estate forward in recent years, supported by her sister
Marina. And, having worked at Neive for 16 years until 2008, oenologist Dante
Scaglione returned in 2011 as a consultant. The family name was first established in the Langhe in 1871 by Bruno Giacosa’s grandfather Carlo Giacosa - as a commerciante di vini, building a network of
excellent local growers and vinifying their grapes at the winery in Neive, near Alba.
After World War II, the 15-year-old Bruno joined his father Mario in the family
business. The prestigious Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Asili and Rabajà are neighbours but have
different soils and clearly definable characteristics: the former has unmatched
elegance and delicacy, while the latter is full-bodied and rich.

Review 

(to be released in 2014): Medium with a hint of amber. Highly complex, scented nose combines red plum, cherry, strawberry, clove, medicinal herbs and a hint of orange zest. Intensely flavored, juicy and tightly wound, with lovely cut and definition to the red fruit and spice flavors. Very concentrated, tactile wine whose firm tannic spine will require at least several years of cellaring. Finishes with terrific lift. 93+/100 Steven Tanzer