About this WINE
Punset, Piedmont
Marina Marcarino of Punset produces an authentic and fine Barbaresco style of wine. Destined to be an engineer by a family in the construction business, Marina rebelled and headed to the vineyards on their 17ha estate overlooking Neive; following in their footsteps of her grandmother, also a ‘contadina’. Trained in viticulture, she turned the property organic in 1982, certified in 1993.
All the vineyards are grassed over, with the fruit being vinified traditionally in both cement and stainless steel, before being aged in a combination of used French tonneaux and slavonian botte grande.
Punset has three Barbaresco vineyards: Basarin, San Cristoforo, and San Cristoforo ‘Campo Quadro’.
Barbaresco
The Piedmontese DOCG zone of Barbaresco is responsible for producing some of Italy’s finest wines. It occupies the same region and uses the same grape (Nebbiolo) as its bigger brother Barolo, but is a third of the size (only 640 hectares versus Barolo’s 1,700 hectares). It is also 50 years younger than Barolo, having produced wine labelled Barbaresco since 1890.
Barbaresco earned its DOCG after Barolo in 1980, largely thanks to the efforts of Angelo Gaja. The soils are lighter here than in Barolo – both in colour and weight – and more calcareous. The slopes are also less favourably situated and (relatively speaking) yield earlier-maturing yet extremely elegant wines that require less oak ageing (normally one year in oak plus six months in bottle). The appellation’s key districts are Barbaresco, Treiso, Neive and Alba.
Recommended producers: Cigliuti, Gaja, Marchesi di Gresy
Nebbiolo
Nebbiolo is the grape behind the Barolo and Barbaresco wines and is hardly ever seen outside the confines of Piedmont. It takes its name from "nebbia" which is Italian for fog, a frequent phenomenon in the region.
A notoriously pernickety grape, it requires sheltered south-facing sites and performs best on the well-drained calcareous marls to the north and south of Alba in the DOCG zones of Barbaresco and Barolo.
Langhe Nebbiolo is effectively the ‘second wine’ of Piedmont’s great Barolo & Barbarescos. This DOC is the only way Langhe producers can declassify their Barolo or Barbaresco fruit or wines to make an early-drinking style. Unlike Nebbiolo d’Alba, Langhe Nebbiolo can be cut with 15% other red indigenous varieties, such as Barbera or Dolcetto.
Nebbiolo flowers early and ripens late, so a long hang time, producing high levels of sugar, acidity and tannins; the challenge being to harvest the fruit with these three elements ripe and in balance. The best Barolos and Barbarescos are perfumed with aromas of tar, rose, mint, chocolate, liquorice and truffles. They age brilliantly and the very best need ten years to show at their best.
Buying options
Add to wishlist
Description
Vintage 2007 was, in my view, far more successful for Barbaresco than Barolo. The hot, dry conditions seemed to favour the earlier ripening Nebbioli of the Barbaresco zone some 20 minutes’ drive north-east (of Barolo). Here the proximity of the Tanaro river, flowing at the foot of the vineyards brings welcome relief during torrid years, such as 2007.
Marina's 'Campo Quadro' has an additional height advantage, being at 420 metres above sea level, bringing natural ventilation. That's not to say her 2007 isn't strawberry ripe and distinctly super-suave. It is, reflecting the vintage. But the wine's lush generosity stops short of hedonism, grounded with nutmeg and tea-leaf spiciness. Delicious this Christmas!
David Berry Green
wine at a glance
Delivery and quality guarantee