Now tasting wines in Piemonte. I last tried the wines of Cascina delle Rose about ten years ago. At that time, the small wine operation was a side show to the Ecotourism operation of the same name. Now the wine business is the number one priority. It is still small with 5ha of vines under control and about 30,000 bottles per year. But under the meticulous leadership of Riccardo, the cru sites of Tre Stelle and Rio Sordo shine in a new light.
The 2022 Dolcetto is a delight. It is very clean, with raspberry and red cherry flavours and a good structure. Underlying this are savoury notes as well. This is a more complex Dolcetto than typical (90 points).
The 2021 Langhe Nebbiolo from the Tre Stelle vineyard is from younger grapes and needs to balance out. I have tasted better examples. The wine is quite tannic, with a slightly short finish (88 points).
The 2019 Barbera Superiore shows what this winery is about now: elegance and lightness on the palate. Red and black cherry flavours dance on the tongue of this elegant wine (92 points).
Then we get to the main game, the Barbarescos. The 2019 Tre Stelle Barbaresco shows the quality of the 2019 vintage. This is a lifted wine, with great finesse. Red cherry and orange peel flavours run down the palate in quite a linear fashion, with elegant and silky tannins. This is quite a feminine wine, an excellent expression of this Barbaresco style (95 points).
The 2019 Rio Sordo Barbaresco is a bit darker, with some mulberry notes, and more muscular. It is still an elegant style with a very layered fruit profile. This is a function of the vineyard, which is a semi-amphitheater, with west and south orientation. Detailed dry tannins lead to a long finish and a long life ahead. I have seen two reviews of this wine, one with 100 points, one with 93. I have seldom seen such a discrepancy. I rate it 97 points, not to be in the middle, but this is an outstanding wine.
I then tasted the 2020s of these two wines, which will come onto the market soon. This confirmed how good 2019 is. The 20s are fruitier and open, lacking the complexity of 2019. The Tre Stelle is again lighter in colour, the Rio Sordo darker. These are pleasant wines, which will be ready to drink almost shortly after release (91/92 points).
The final wine of this excellent tasting was the 2010 Tre Stelle Barbaresco. 2010 is one vintage 2019 is compared to, although Riccardo believes 2013 is the best comparison. This wine was still fresh, with orange peel flavours and surprisingly some mint. It had great balance between fruit, acidity and tannins, but not quite the complexity of 2019. The long finish made this an outstanding wine as well (95 points).
This was the start of my Piedmont tastings. I can’t wait to explore more.
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