Size & Type
Other
$60
Always a fun wine. Elegant and juicy fruited, with solid core of fruit wrapped in chewy tannins. It’s a playful Langhe. The 2020 sits true to pedigree. Perfumed with a savoury twang, a little orange. Loads of fun to be had here. Always better after an extra year in bottle & a good decant. Will reward 2-5 years patience.
Even his Langhe Neb is young vine Rabajà!
Out of stock
You could call Giuseppe Cortese a one trick pony.
The majority of his Nebbiolo comes from just 1 vineyard
Boy, it’s one hell of a pony – Rabajà.
Very typical aromas and flavours: redcurrant notes and good structure for a wine that fully expresses the terroir and the grape variety it is made from.
Made from grapes grown in the younger vineyards as those used to make our Barbaresco, this wine has all the character and elegance of the great Nebbiolo with its intense yet delicate perfume. Dry, fresh and pleasant flavour with characteristic tannic balance. Garnet red colour.
Grape variety: 100% nebbiolo
Surface area: Barbaresco; 1,5 hectare in the “Rabajà” and Trifolera zones, with south, south-westerly exposure
Altitude: 200 / 330 meters a.s.l.
Soil: Limestone and clay soil rich in minerals and stratified with layers of “tufo”
Age of vineyard: around 30 years. Density of planting system: guyot-4,000 vines per hectare
Vinification: around 30 days of fermentation in stainless steel tanks
Ageing: 12 months in Slavonian oak barrels ranging in size from 17 to 25 hectolitres and in age from new to 8/9 years. Minimum 6 months of maturing in the bottle before being released for sale.
“It’s impossible not to admire these genuine, sincere wines and their equally unpretentious prices”. Antonio Galloni
Giuseppe went solo in 1971, making his first wine under his own name.
2019 is shaping up to be a superb year. The Langhe Nebbiolos for each of the Communes in Barbaresco and Barolo showing beautifully. We’re seeing energy, freshness, excellent depth and length of flavour combined with layered ripe tannins in wines of balance.
Cortese’s best vineyard is undoubtedly his Rabajà
Contrary to how it may appear when seen from a distance, the Rabajà hill is anything but homogeneous and can be broadly divided into at least two areas. The first bordering on Asili coincides with the picturesque amphitheatre overlooking the Martinenga cru, and mostly enjoys a south-westerly aspect. The second, on the other hand, is more linear and faces due south, though within it there are some evident variations due to marked undulations around the hillside. In both cases, the style of the wine is, however, richer and bolder than the Asili and Martinenga (although a more uncompromising, mineral character tends to emerge in the second area).
Cortese’s Rabajà is mainly facing south-west in the hollow above Martinenga, south for the remainder
One of my favourite producers here, and well represented in my own cellar.
Red fruit, almond paste, mint, dried flowers and a subtle Campari top note. It’s medium-bodied, all red fruits with a light blood orange tang to it, light chalky tannin, and a frisky finish of solid length. It’s light and breezy but has character, and makes for a good introduction to the Cortese house style of fragrance and finesse.
Where in the world does the magic happen?
Giuseppe Cortese, Strada Rabaja, Barbaresco, Piedmont, Province of Cuneo, Italy
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