Cantina del Pino Barbaresco DOCG, 2017

This is one of my favorite wines on the planet.  Favorite.  Stuff the Cellar...drink this bottle as often as you can.  Indeed, I confess that during Covid, there was a particularly challenging couple of weeks there when a bottle of Renato Vacca's treasured classic bottling enjoyed over a quiet dinner with my best friend (my wife Allie) was a regular reminder that the World would return to beauty and splendor...we just had to be patient.  I smile thinking about that now as I kick off the fall season with a pop-up supper this evening and open with this very wine around our big table out back.

From June 2021 Reviews in the Wine Advocate by Monica Larner:

“The Cantina del Pino 2017 Barbaresco reveals a beautifully light garnet color in the glass. The wine shows extra intensity in terms of its aromas with wild rose, lilac and cherry. That combination of floral and fruity doesn't completely define the bouquet because you also get a good dose of crushed mineral, smoke and spice. Like most of the wines I tasted from this vintage, this release of 13,000 bottles shows extra power and tightness in terms of its tannins. Give it a little extra bottle time.”

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The Vacca family is steeped in the history of Barbaresco. If you cut one of them, (accidentally of course) I’d expect wine to run from their veins as much as blood. Renato and his father Adriano decided to leave the Produttori del Barbaresco two decades ago, an organization that

Adriano co-founded in 1958 with his brother Celestino. I imagine at the time it was a difficult decision, as the family was instrumental in the creation of the Produttori, just as they were instrumental in the very creation of the appellation now world famous as Barbaresco. The very first bottling named Barbaresco came from their vineyard “Ovello”. But it was a wise move as we can now see, in that they have created one of the greatest estates in the zone or all of Piemonte for that matter. One that has quickly reached levels of critical acclaim that one would expect that could only be achieved over generations. But then again, they have been doing it that long, just under different names.

All Barbareschi from CdP undergo extended submerged cap fermentations with indigenous yeast , (unless, as is sometimes the case in warmer years, it does not start fast enough.) post fermentation macerations that keep the wine and skins together for at least 30 days and then they are moved to large (25-30 HL) Botte for two years plus in the case of the Classico bottling and longer (30 months) for crus. After 6-12 months in bottle the wines are released.

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Some recent Vinous quotes from years past:

 “Readers who haven’t discovered Cantina del Pino yet owe it to themselves to do so. Proprietor Renato Vacca is making some of the most compelling wines in Piedmont today.”

“This range from Cantina del Pino and proprietor Renato Vacca is one of the most impressive I tasted this year. Every wine from this small cellar in the center of Barbaresco is fabulous. I can’t say enough good things about Cantina del Pino. I never turn down a chance to drink these wines, as they are exceptional.”

“My visit with proprietor Renato Vacca was illuminating, as we toured several vineyards during the 2009 harvest and tasted through a number of wines. This year, Vacca has a new Barbaresco from the Albesani vineyard – and it is a knockout. Despite all of his recent success Vacca remains humble and down to earth, qualities that should serve him very well for the future. Readers should do whatever they can to taste these wines, the Barbarescos in particular.”