2012 Barbaresco Marcarini Ca Del Baio: an elegant and easy to drink Nebbiolo

The 2012 Barbaresco Marcarini Ca Del Baio is a wine that has already lost all of its extract and tannin charge from when it was young and has started a fascinating change.

Ethereal fruit, sweet spices, undergrowth, and lasting earthy aromas. The alcoholic fire is tamed, and now it’s time to enjoy all the finesse of this Nebbiolo.

How is it produced?

The vineyards are part of the Marcarini cru: vines managed consciously with copper and sulfur treatments.

After the harvest, the grapes are de-stemmed and fermented in steel, then aged in large barrels and tonneau for two years.

Organoleptic characteristics

The color is transparent and light.

The bouquet is enveloping, sharp, and deep. Austere fruit that opens with raspberry, watermelon, and blueberries in alcohol.

Chocolate, cocoa, coffee, licorice, and earthy tones of truffle and anise.

You will find everything here: a constant whirlwind that oscillates between dark tones and others that are more sumptuous and rich.

On the palate, it is juicy, already shaped by 10 years of aging: the tannins are soft and open to evolved earthy flavors of cinchona, chocolate cake, plum jam, and candied ginger.

It still moves juicy but has struck an outstanding balance between hard and soft parts, delivering a not exaggerated yet satisfying depth. The structure is average.

It is not a Nebbiolo to forget in the cellar for 40 years, so do not expect colossal tannins or a three-dimensional taste of a thoroughbred.

It is not one of Piedmont’s most typical or complex Barbaresco, but it is well done. The wood has now been integrated, and the rigidity of the early years is only a distant memory.

Price

40 euros for a red wine that is rocky, pleasant, and “easy to use.”

Food Pairings

Beef tacos, Black truffle risotto, passatelli with Parmigiano fondue and truffle, bucatini all’amatriciana, roast beef, hamburger, smoked beef ribs.