Giuseppe Nada Barbaresco

The Cantina Giuseppe Nada in Treiso is an absolute gem of a cellar in Barbaresco and a great if limited source of top quality, traditional Nebbiolo. Established in the 1960's as a winery, the Nadas got started the same way so many small producers did here by transitioning from farming and selling fruit to larger negociant concerns to making and bottling their own wine. They own and farm prime vineyard land in Treiso, the highest altitude village in the DOC just southeast of Barbaresco itself, principally the famed Casot cru which the family purchased from the Gaja family (yes, those Gajas) in 1900. 

These days, it's still very much a family operation with Giuseppe and wife Nella Nada doing all the vineyard work, daughter Barbara running the office and son Enrico making the wine. At just 22 acres total and less than half of that planted to Nebbiolo, this is one of the Langhe's true boutique wineries. Farming is sustainable, something we're seeing more and more of in the Langhe, yields are low and winemaking very traditional with aging in large old wood for the Barbaresco. 

The Casot Cru is a prized Nebbiolo site. Lying on a steep hillside with perfect southwest exposure, the vineyard generally provides good ripeness and in the 2013 vintage it was just about perfect. I've been tasting the vintage out of cask and bottle since 2014 and it reminds me a lot of the great 1999's with some of the power of 1996.

This is elegant, powerful Barbaresco with Burgundian characteristics which separate it from the more masculine Barolo a few miles to the south. Where we tend to find menthol and tar in Barolo, classic Barbaresco leans more towards the perfume of rose petals and licorice and this is an excellent example. Pure red fruit, rose, tobacco and mineral on the nose with a dense core of fruit and mineral flavor. Beautiful texture with firm tannins and a dense acidic profile. Definitely a good candidate for the cellar but approachable in the near term where you might want to wait a bit for your Barolo in this vintage. 600 cases made, not much imported (I may be the only retialer in the US with any of this at the moment) and at $32.99 one of the absolute best values you'll see all year in Barbaresco/Barolo.

Oh, the Dolcetto. Nada makes one of the great Dolcettos in all of the Langhe. Grown in the Marcarini Cru in Treiso, aged in stainless steel only. Deep ruby color, highly perfumed of violets and ripe red cherry with deep fruit flavors and subtle tannins. Just a perfect everyday table red. Small production here too at about 600 cases. A steal at under $20.

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