Product information

Barale Barolo ‘Bussia’ 2016

Nebbiolo from Bussia, Monforte d'Alba, Barolo, Italy

$153

$148ea in any 3+
$143ea in any 6+
Closure: Cork
Oh so pretty!

Description

Here we see the perfume, the flowers, the elegance of aroma and flavour, fine line of acid length. A little of the resinous pine thing. Lovely mid-palate fruit. True to form for Bussia. Lingering fruit of intensity. It pretty yet with an opinion on mouthfeel and lets you know it. Tannins are true to the maker a little edgy, yet of very high quality.  Cracking wine!

 

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Why is this Wine so Yummy?

About Barale

On the edge of Barolo village, just a few metres down and across the cobblestones of the via Roma from Cantina Bartolo Mascarello, is the unprepossessing cantina frontage to one of the most exciting discoveries in my many years of going to the Langhe. It’s not as though Barale just emerged, but these firmly traditional wines are now being made to the full potential of the family’s remarkable vineyards and this unforced, traditional style is now being fully appreciated.

Barale present a catalogue of superb, authentic Barolo and a cru Barbaresco, bell-clear Piemontese varietals, Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto, along with a slight twist in the form of a wonderful metodo classico –  as good a sparkler as I’ve ever had in Italy. Another great asset is a wonderful, typically far-sighted museum collection, an archive the last 2 decades of Barale winemaking. Oh, and that Chinato, all elegant, fragrant and addictive.

In the Vineyard

The Barale family have in fact been at it for centuries and while they are amongst the first recorded producers of Barolo wine, from 1870, they appear in the village register of the early 1600s as owners of parts of some pretty familiar vineyard names; Coste di Rose, Cannubi, Castellero and Preda. The current custodians, Sergio Barale and his daughters Eleonora and Gloria owe their heritage to the acquisition, over generations, of vineyards in not only Barolo comune, but also in Monforte d’Alba and Barbaresco. By the 1970’s the family had brought more Cannubi and added Monrobiolo (in Barolo) and some Bussia (in Monforte) and into the 90’s had virtually swapped their long-held Rabaja vineyard in Barbaresco for some Serraboella in Neive planted in 1969. All this covers only 20 ha, with Sergio tailoring his plantings almost precisely only to the best soil and aspect combinations. Virtually the whole of Cannubi was replanted at the end of the 2007 vintage, and although just back in production, it’s with startling results. Vineyards are everything to Barale.

In the Winery

The initial approach is the same for all the reds; delicate crushing in order to keep skins intact, fermentation with indigenous yeasts, controlled temperature and maceration with frequent basting of the skins. The fermentation vessel, temperatures and macerations change according to the grape.

  • Barolo and Barbaresco in wood fermentation tanks, temperatures around 30 °C and up to 40 days of maceration.
  • For Langhe Nebbiolo, wood fermentation, temperatures around 26 ° and 10 days of maceration.
  • For Barbera, steel fermentation, temperatures around 25 ° and a week of maceration.
  • The aging for all these wines is done in wood: three years in French oak barrel of 15 – 30 hl for Barolo and Barbaresco and one year in tonneaux of 500 lt for Langhe Nebbiolo and Barbera.
  • The oak is not allowed to impart any aromas or flavours. Although he’s used Allier for Nebbiolo for a couple of decades now, appreciating its superior effect on tannins and anthocyanins, Sergio noticed a “faint taste of vanilla” in early trials, which he says “…I didn’t like: for me, like my father before me, a woody wine is a bad wine, because our wines should preserve the flavour only of the grape and the land.”

Where in the World are Barale?

While based in Barolo, Barale makes this beautiful wine from the Serraboella vineyard in Nieve, Barbaresco. This wine comes from San Giovanni on the Bricco immediately outside the village – therefore strictly speaking Barolo commune but effectively it’s just as much Bussia. On calcareous sand facing south-east.

 

Click to enlarge🔎
95+ Points

Bussia Soprana here, planted in 1982. Organic farming.

You could almost think you’re tasting a great Pinot Noir here, albeit one with a much improved tannin structure, such is its fragrance of dried roses, mint, red cherry and sweet spice. It’s medium-bodied, deft and gently chewy, bright and precise, a tasty sort of sugared almond and liquorice flavour in the mix, strawberry and floral perfume, cool acidity, then the tannin leans in on the finish and pulls fine and chalky. The length is excellent. It feels like there’s a lot more to come.

Gary Walsh

Where in the world does the magic happen?

Barale Fratelli, Via Roma, Barolo, Piedmont, Province of Cuneo, Italy

Barolo
Bussia
Monforte d'Alba
Italy