Cantina del Pino 'Gallina' Barbaresco DOCG, 2020

This is only the third time we are offering this wine and I couldn't be more excited. The last two years proved to be a remarkable opportunity and our own experience and engagement with this sublime bottling followed many critics' writing to the letter... indeed, while we rarely republish “points” if I were to do so, you’d discover this wine as the among the very “top” throughout ALL of Barbaresco.

The wisdom in waiting to offer this wine until recently is a little confusing at first...but, if you catch my vibe of how curated we are, you'll understand. Essentially, Gallina, while among the smallest and dearest production Barbaresco EVER, the Cru simultaneously accounts for some of Vacca's youngest vines (still developed and mature but *less* so than Ovello and Albesani) AND the wine additionally stands as the largest single component of Vacca's DOCG blended bottling featured just above. So...in years past I've felt like if we skip this, we tell a sufficient story and share a sufficient snapshot of Vacca's work...this year I feel differently and I invite you, expressly, to join me. You see, the DOCG multi-cru blend is Vacca's *flagship* as it best reflects his house style and blending ability...isn't this a super component of the absolute favorite wine of mine? I think so! I'm going for it. Come with me!

This wine is among Franca Vacca's very first Barbaresco she has made on her own since her husband passed away earlier in the same year, 2020. 2020 as a vintage reflects something very special and I am eager to serve these wines, save these wines, study these wines, and cherish them all the while. The previous 2019 was the first in a glorious trio of vintages, with 2020 continuing this legacy and offering Barbaresco a true spotlight. While 2020 has big boots to fill as the successor to the outstanding 2019 vintage in Piedmont, both vintages offer us something very different and, naturally, equally delightful. The 2020 vintage gives us a genuine vintage of pleasure: the wines are open, relaxed and generously fruity with succulent tannins poised to be super delicious now without sacrificing a graceful journey in the Cellar resting for years to come if you prefer. 

Recall that this was a vintage marked by lockdown. Logistically for the farmers like Franca Vacca this meant no travel burdens, appointments or foreign commitments. No tourism and significantly reduced pollution (dolphins in Venice!...remember that?!)... Thus, vineyards received more attention than ever as for a farmer in rural Italy otherwise confined to her house, the fields and grapes and resulting cellar work offered a worthy excuse to escape the confines of her home. Quite simply, the wines are better for it.

Many producers are likening 2020 to the magnificence of 2016 in the best possible light with an interesting and lovely twist: the '20s may possess the classical red-fruited centers and glossy tannins, balanced but enduring acidity, and a promise to delight this evening or year from now...BUT, these wines do NOT carry the initial austerity and seeming 'defense' of '16 when the wines showed great future and collectible promise often at the inherent sacrifice of approachability in their youth. With these wines this year on-offer, stock up the Larder AND the Cellar. You'll want to pull some corks right away without giving up the fun and delight of returning to these bottles year after year as they mature.

I do not often share my personal bias toward wines or winemakers…and, when I do, I do not do so lightly. For, at the end of the day, your taste and judgment is personal and needs to reflect you, the individual. I take a break from this protocol here.

One of my favorite quotes is from Wine Folly when she says, "Imagine getting kicked in the face by a ballerina."

Dynamic, elegant and truthful. This wine bears its soul to all that are willing to sit with it. A wine that is so good it is hard to define. Aromas of raspberry, cranberry and rose that tantalize each nerve ending. Savory and herbal aromas that sneak behind the vibrant fruit. An exhilarating wine that makes you want more, a wine that you know you will have to finish but do not want to. Elegant to the end, pure at each step, the wine is a joy. Drink now - (On Tasting the 2020) Wine Enthusiast

From my Importer: Cantina del Pino has emerged, seemingly recently, as one of the most important producers of Barbaresco. However their vineyard and family history could not be more intertwined with the history of Barbaresco. The very first wine labeled as Barbaresco, made by the "father" of Barbaresco, the renowned enologist Domizio Cavazza in 1894, was made from the Ovello Vineyard that Renato Vacca's great-great grandfather purchased from him a few years later and the family has owned ever since. Cavazza owned the estate, formerly known as Cascina Ovello, another nearby parcel, and also the castle. When his first son was born he planted a Pine tree at the top of Ovello and over time it became known as Cantina del Pino. That tree, depicted on the label, still stands today. The bulk of their current vineyard land is on the historic cru “Ovello” in the commune of Barbaresco. Ovello’s elevation, exposure, both to the sun and the climate moderating effects of the nearby Tanaro river, vine age (80 years) and soil mix all contribute to the combination of finesse, complexity and power evident in the wines of Cantina del Pino. Ovello has a long track record of producing one of the most complex and elegant Barbaresco's. The estate has been acquiring new vineyards over the last few years spread around the village of Nieve. One, just a couple of hundred yards from Vigneto Santo Stefano in Albesani, which has been long considered a Grand Cru of the Nieve part of the Barbaresco zone. It is a very dark and powerful wine (though made in the exact same way) and so very complementary in the line to the incredible finesse of the Ovello.