2017 | Rivella Serafino | Barbaresco Montestefano (Magnum)

Rivella Serafino Barbaresco Montestefano 2017 is a concentrated red wine with very good aromatic intensity of crisp red fruits, herbs, violets and tobacco. On the palate it is rich, broad and generous. A medium-bodied wine with a refined palate and beautiful silky tannins. Well balanced tannins round out the persistent finish.

Reviews:

• Vinous: Sweet tobacco, cedar, spice and leather are some of the many notes that grace the 2017, a wine that marries the natural intensity of the year with the super-classic style that is the house signature. Grippy but well balanced tannins round out the persistent finish.

Producer Information

Rivella’s tiny cellar produces about 1000 cases of wine each year, all heralding from the historic Cru of Montestefano in Barbaresco itself. Of the 1000 cases, about 750 are Barbaresco “Montestefano” and 250 are of a serious and regal Dolcetto. The vineyard was planted in 1963 by Rivella’s father, and the first vintage produced at the estate was 1967. His Montestefano parcel is next to his house, so he treats it, “come il mio giardino” (as my own little garden) he says, meticulously tended. Since the beginning, the vineyards have also been farmed organically. The Montestefano Cru is unique in that is comprised of a solid meter of active limestone at the surface with clay and tufo underneath. This provides for a wine that has both freshness and lift, but also a bit more serious structure than most Barbarescos. Rivella vinifies more like Barolo, with 3-4 week macerations and long aging of 30-40 months in Botti Grande. As such, he tends to release his wines a year later than his neighbors, more like his brethren further south in Barolo. The Dolcetto too is aged in large cask, and released 18 months after the vintage. Not just a tutti-fruity wine to simply drink and forget. In getting to know Rivella and his wines over the past several years, one gets a glimpse at the Piedmont of yesteryear. The wines and the people are unabashedly ‘old-school’ in the best sense. There is a sense of strength, pride and character in how they operate. Oh, in speaking with other producers in the region, apparently he is sort of an underground cult figure in the region whose wines are sought out by the most serious and passionate Piedmont cogniscenti. It is a pleasure to have this tiny gem of a producer as part of our Piedmont roster.

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