Tenuta Carretta Barbaresco Riserva Bordino 2016

If you’ve been fortunate enough to have Tenuta Carretta’s Bric Paradiso nebbiolos, you know how much we love this estate. They have the history to rival any producer in Piemonte and stand as one of our must-visits on every trip to northern Italy. 60% off a single vineyard Barbaresco, in the fantastic 2016 vintage...it just boggles the mind. You don’t want to miss this!

In 2017, Tenuta Carretta celebrated 550 years, yes, YEARS (that means founded in 1467 if you don’t want to do the math) of its long, storied history. We generally visit this historic property every year and talk about soccer, food, hilarious American movies, truffles, and taste a bunch of the upcoming releases. This one they sent as a sample, which we tasted, then tasted again, then finished off the rest of the bottle. It was that good.

Located along the southern edge of Barbaresco, on the eastern side of the Treiso region, is the Cascina Bordino vineyard. This hillside plot has a perfect southwestern exposure, with a steep slope composed of sandy soils and silty grey marl – the perfect conditions for ripening nebbiolo. The fruit is hand-harvested, sorted, and then fermented in stainless steel. A delicate maceration keeps the color light and the flavors fresh, followed by 9 months in oak barrels and a full 50 months before release.

The flavors are epic, classic Barbaresco – floral roses and violets, with bright red fruits like cranberries, cherries, and raspberries, with spiced notes of anise seed, balsam, vanilla bean, and dusty chocolate. The ripe and lavish signature of 2016 is certainly noticeable, as this is a fully-structured and round Barbaresco that could certainly be mistaken for Barolo. Impeccable with a bit of time in the glass, yet better still as time marches onward! 60% OFF! Under $40 for a Barbaresco of this pedigree is a find, and we’re starting to run short on those exceptional 2016 Piemonte's! While we can’t wait to get back to Alba... we can at least drink it! Salute!