Barbaresco 'Cottá'

Score

96

"Coming from the cru surrounding the estate in the heart of the Neive zone with limestone and clay soils, the 2023 Barbaresco Cotta reveals fresh wild herbs, mint, cherries, and fresh spice layered with delicate rustic notes. More full-bodied in profile, it has a tremendous core of energy and brightness, with broader shoulders and a chiseled structure to the tannins. The vibrant, almost metallic energy of the wine gives it remarkable lift. This is a stunning wine that is highly expressive on release but also shows potential for notable longevity. Drink 2027-2047."

Score

95

"The 2023 Barbaresco Cottá is impressive. A blast of dark cherry, plum, spice, lavender, incense, spice, new leather and menthol stains the palate. Readers will find a big Barbaresco with broad shoulders and tons of intensity. This is an especially virile, almost somber, edition of the Cottá. Superb."

Score

94

"An earthy style with leathery aromas alongside leafy lightness, licorice root, strawberries and wild raspberries. Medium-bodied, rich and extracted, it shows crisp acidity and firm, dusty yet ripe tannins. Long, savory finish. A bit austere yet harmonious. Try from 2027."

Score

97

"The 2021 Barbaresco Cotta also sports a bright red color in the glass. It has a pure and seductive nose leading with aromas of wild raspberries, anise, sweet tea, and floral perfume. The palate is inviting and more approachable out of the gate, with ripe tannins, a floating, medium-bodied frame, and pretty notes of apricot lingering on the finish. It™s hard to resist now, but it should have plenty of longevity over the coming 15-20 or more years."

Score

97

"Intense aromas of iris mingle with fresh cranberry, ground clove and camphor on the fabulous Cottà from Sottimano. Focused and elegantly structured, the delicious, balanced palate features juicy red cherry, crushed raspberry, star anise and saline alongside vibrant acidity and firm, fine-grained tannins. What a beauty. 2028"2036."

Score

97

"This wine comes from a 2.8-hectare vineyard purchased by Andrea Sottimano's father in 1969. Today, the vines are 80 years old and planted in very wide spacing that once had vegetables and artichokes between the rows. The soils are sandy like in Rabajà and Asili. The 2021 Barbaresco Cottá was the last wine in our flight. That's because it has the biggest concentration and richness. It offers a full bouquet with sweet berry fruits, dried herb and dark spice. It makes a big impact on the palate, and it shows an intense, long-lasting mouthfeel. All of these Sottimano wines are racked into oak sometime after January, and malolactic fermentation proceeds very slowly (finishing at the end of summer or closer to harvest). This gives the wine a reductive character. The aromas here are very delicate and fine with carob, forest fruit, orange rind and blue flower. The tannins are powdery and fine. This beautiful Nebbiolo drinks like a Pinot Noir. Production is 9,000 bottles."

Score

96

"The 2021 Barbaresco Cottá is quite the powerhouse. As usual, it is marked by a huge mid-palate of fruit, but more classic winemaking these days keeps that in check while also adding the notable structural dimension to balance things out. Black cherry, licorice, incense, graphite, tobacco and scorched earth all build in a virile, potent Barbaresco to treasure for the next two decades. This has come together beautifully since I tasted it last year."

Score

94

"This aromatic red displays cherry, strawberry, pine, eucalyptus and iron notes. Silky and well-integrated, with ample flesh and an open texture. Flashes of anise and other spices grace the lingering aftertaste. Best from 2027 through 2043. "B.S."

Score

95

"Blue flower, rose, camphor and baking spice aromas waft out of the glass. Juicy and delicious, the polished palate doles out juicy Marasca cherry, crushed raspberry and star anise alongside taut, fine-grained tannins."

Score

95

"Blue flower, rose, camphor and baking spice aromas waft out of the glass. Juicy and delicious, the polished palate doles out juicy Marasca cherry, crushed raspberry and star anise alongside taut, fine-grained tannins. Kerin O™Keefe"

Score

94

"Drawing its fruit from a 2.8-hectare section of the Cottà cru in Neive with 50- to 60-year-old vines, this is a classic offering from Sottimano. The 2017 Barbaresco Cottá unfolds to beautiful intensity and depth. The Neive area suffered hail damage on April 15th, and we are lucky that this parcel was spared, enough so to render a 9,000-bottle release. This estate believes in long maceration times (the wine stays on the skins for up to 40 days) with no selected yeasts. Malolactic fermentation is allowed to happen at its own pace in French barrel, and the wine ages up to 24 months, with lees contact for about half that time. The approach is traditional and straightforward, resulting in a wine that is focused, detailed and polished with bright cherry fruit, licorice and campfire ash. I love the intensity you get here."

Score

93

"The 2017 Barbaresco Cottà is punchy, with terrific freshness and verve. Red toned fruit, flowers, mint and bright acids yield a decidedly delicate expression of Cottà, a Neive vineyard where the wines tend to be quite a bit bigger and richer. The 2017 needs at least a few years in bottle to soften. It is an attractive wine if enjoyed on its own terms, but is also quite different stylistically from the wines Sottimano has made here in the past."

Score

92

Score

90

"Tightly packed, this red is also fluid, displaying cherry and red berry flavors with supporting notes of earth and underbrush. It stays fresh on the finish, with a lining of dusty tannins."

Score

17+

"Neive. Tasted blind. Mid ruby with orange tinges. Balsamic, multi-layered nose with a hint of Marseilles soap and fruit cake. Delicious, ripe sour-cherry fruit with coating tannins supporting the fruit. Very long and intense and yet with elegant medium-bodied weight. (WS)"

Score

93

"Iris, perfumed berry, truffle and baking spice aromas emerge in the glass along with a whiff of crushed herb. The structured, elegant palate shows ripe Marasca cherry, vanilla and a hint of mocha alongside fine-grained tannins and bright acidity."

Score

93+

"The 2014 Barbaresco Cottà is one of the least expressive wines in this range, which is quite surprising, as it is usually the exact opposite. Plush and deep on the palate, with its typical breadth on display, the 2014 possesses notable freshness and nuance. The wine's reticence today is likely an excellent sign for the future. Moreover, the French oak, often an issue with this wine, is totally integrated."

Score

93

"The 2014 Barbaresco Cottà does not offer the acute high notes that you get with the other beautiful Barbarescos from Sottimano in this vintage. The intensity is broader and flatter, so to speak, but overall, the wine's intensity is just as bright and compelling as the others, albeit in a more subdued manner. Dark cherry and blackberry segue to spice, anise and cured leather. The wine feels soft and rich in texture as well. Some 10% of the wine is aged in new oak barrel."

Score

93

"This wine's iris, perfumed berry, truffle and baking spice aromas emerge in the glass as it opens, along with a whiff of crushed herb. The structured, elegant palate shows ripe Marasca cherry, vanilla and mocha flavors alongside fine-grained tannins and bright acidity. Kerin O™Keefe"

Score

93

"Pretty cherry, floral, mineral and tobacco flavors line this racy red. There is an underlying density to the structure and a lingering aftertaste of fruit, iron, underbrush and tobacco."

Score

92

"Lots of flowers and perfumed character for the vintage. Medium to full body, chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. One of the better 2014s."

Score

17+

"Tasted blind. Neive. Lustrous ruby. Oak and red fruit nose. Youthful and tannic palate with the right dose of vigorous acidity. Quite a bit of oak on this, but the whole is finely balanced, super-elegant, long and brooding. Modernist. (WS)"

Score

93

"Aromas of red berry, tilled earth, menthol and dark cooking spice unfold in the glass. The structured, elegant palate doles out ripe wild cherry, mint, licorice, blood orange and chopped herb alongside firm, fine-grained tannins. It's still tight so let it unwind for a few more years. Kerin O™Keefe"

Score

92

"I like the aromas of dried rose petal, plum and cedar. Some stems. Full-bodied, layered and chewy."

Score

92

"You™ll find alluring scents of black-skinned berry, baking spice, violet, a hint of leather and a balsamic note on this well-structured red. The chewy, accessible palate shows dense black cherry, raspberry compote, licorice, clove and pipe tobacco alongside smooth, velvety tannins and fresh acidity. A hint of cinnamon closes the finish"

Score

92

"The 2012 Barbaresco Cottà shows its typical profile of round, ample fruit and generosity, but with a touch less richness than is the norm. Broad, ample textures fill out the wine's frame nicely. Pine, menthol and dark spices wrap around a core of super-expressive dark red stone fruits. All of the typical Cottà signatures are in place, but in miniature, which is to say this is a highly representative wine for the year."

Score

91

"The 2012 Barbaresco Cottá shows a slightly subdued personality and a timid approach. The wine is bright, buoyant and brilliant across the board but it delivers its best assets with less intensity compared to the other single-vineyard expressions of Barbaresco produced by Sottimano. Pretty tones of white cherry and forest berry form a smooth union with light spice, mint and cola. This wine should flesh out further with more time in the cellar."

Score

90

"A fresh, elegant style, with a firm edge of tannins under the pure cherry, strawberry, floral, spice and leather flavors. The tannins have the upper hand for now, so be patient."

Score

16

"Some brawn, spice and dried fruit, with orange peel and forest floor development emerging. Slightly grainy, firm tannins build through the mid palate, which just lacks a touch of depth. Fairly long. (TJ)"

Score

96

Score

96

Score

96

Score

95

Score

95

"Cellar Selection"

Score

94

Score

94

Score

94+

Score

94

"Dark aromas of the heart of the forest, reminiscent of a Grimms™ fairy tale, rise from the glass, intertwined with candied black cherries and a captivating blend of sweet and savory spices, including cinnamon, clove and allspice. This Cottá cru wine showcases a purity of fruit, with currants, cranberries and tart blackberries coalescing around savory and earthy flavors. The tannins grip firmly, like a friendly handshake after a long absence, while the fresh palate provides a lift before the next enchanting sip. Drink 2025"2040."J.P"

Score

93

Score

93

Score

17

"Neive. Lustrous and just mid ruby with the beginning of orange tinges. An alluring nose of sweet raspberry with hints of cinnamon bark and the merest suggestion of gingerbread. Elegant and surprisingly embryonic redcurrant and raspberry fruit with a firm layer of finely ground tannins. A couple of years™ patience is needed for this to come into full bloom. (WS)"