2016 Barbaresco, Cottá, Sottimano, Piedmont, Italy
Critics reviews
Fun fact: The accent mark on this vineyard's original name was what the Italians call an accento acuto (accent aigu, for francophiles), as in Cottá, an unusual diacritical mark to stick over an "a" in Italian. So the opposite-slanting and more common accento grave was printed on vineyard maps and wine labels starting in the 1990s, and with all the success it has had, Sottimano thinks the normalized punctuation might actually bring good luck.
This is the trademark wine of this estate for its elegance, power and finesse. With an extra gear in terms of intensity, right off the bat the 2016 Barbaresco Cottá brings fullness and generosity. There are wonderful notes of mint and liquorice to it, a streamlined wine with a great deal of purity. It's got a lot of volume and even more dimension. There is also that pretty salty mineral note on the close. Some 9,000 bottles were made.
Drink 2021 - 2038
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate (June 2019)
About this WINE
Sottimano
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.
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Description
Fun fact: The accent mark on this vineyard's original name was what the Italians call an accento acuto (accent aigu, for francophiles), as in Cottá, an unusual diacritical mark to stick over an "a" in Italian. So the opposite-slanting and more common accento grave was printed on vineyard maps and wine labels starting in the 1990s, and with all the success it has had, Sottimano thinks the normalized punctuation might actually bring good luck.
This is the trademark wine of this estate for its elegance, power and finesse. With an extra gear in terms of intensity, right off the bat the 2016 Barbaresco Cottá brings fullness and generosity. There are wonderful notes of mint and liquorice to it, a streamlined wine with a great deal of purity. It's got a lot of volume and even more dimension. There is also that pretty salty mineral note on the close. Some 9,000 bottles were made.
Drink 2021 - 2038
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate (June 2019)
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