Barbaresco Rabaja Riserva Bruno Rocca 2021 (750ML)

Two parcels in the most south-facing stretch of Rabajà go into this Riserva: one heavy in limestone, the other planted in 1958. Bruno Rocca, who took over the family farm in 1978 and moved it from selling grapes to bottling its own wine, now runs the estate with his children, Francesco and Luisa. In 2021 an April frost thinned the crop, and harvest wrapped up in early October. The Nebbiolo ferments with native yeasts for 25 to 30 days in large wooden vats, completes malolactic in wood, then rests in French oak and spends two more years in bottle. Only 206 cases were made. Dark and broad, it brings plum and dark fruit with leather, mocha, menthol and licorice across a wide, deep frame that has real density at its core. Critics put its prime between 2026 and 2036. Roast pheasant, braised veal cheeks and aged Castelmagno make fine company.