2000 La Spinetta, Barbaresco Vigneto Starderi, Rivetti

Az Agri Dante Rivetti

The Dante Rivetti family cantina, located in the small village Bricco di Neive (or Naevia, as the Romans called it), started bottling Barbaresco in 1959.

The 1990s saw the cantina expand from their Bricco di Neive roots, buying up the cascinas of Rivetti, Micca and Costigliole d'Asti. The estate has now grown to 60 hectares, of which 15 hectares is planted to Moscato (supplemented with bought-in fruit), while 18 hectares is devoted to Nebbiolo.

Bric Micca's sandy marine soils breed pretty, fruity, fragrant, sandalwood Barbarescos (planted in 1997), while the older, whiter, clay calcareous soils of Bricco di Neive, along with deeper-rooted older vines, give a more structured, quinine-spice Barbaresco.

Dante and his wife Luciana have since been joined by their children Ivan, Katia and Mara in the winery.

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.