2017 Barbaresco, Bruno Rocca, Piemonte, Italy
£289 for a case of six bottles (£48.17 each), thefinewinecompany.co.uk
I recently published my 2020 Piemonte Report, which features nearly 1,400 tasting notes from the best 121 wineries, including more than 100 write-ups from the much-vaunted 2016 vintage. I also hosted a one-hour webinar for elite wine club 67 Pall Mall, to spread the word about my report, but also to give viewers an overview of this historic region. If you would like to watch it, it is free to view in the “previous events” section of 67pallmall.com. One of the wines in the line-up was the 2016 vintage of my featured wine and it got a lot of praise from viewers and tasters. You can track it down at qwines.co.uk and hedonism.co.uk.
It will be a long-lived beauty, so if you would like to taste a more forward-drinking wine from this epic estate then look to the sensational 2017. There was no Rabajà or Currà, the grands crus from Rocca, made in 2017, and so what was left of these two vineyards after devastating hail in April was included in this stupendous estate wine. This is a luxuriously appointed Barbaresco with hedonistic edges that gently tease the palate. The perfume is fascinating, with floral tones that are augmented in the red-fruit core. This is a real treat for fans of this estate because it is an unusual creature and the addition of the two single-vineyard wine has not made it a more backward creation, but a more sensually layered one.
Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition’s Communicator of the Year (matthewjukes.com)