2017 Barbaresco Serraboella
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Tasting notes
A release of 2,500 bottles from 60-year-old vines, the 2017 Barbaresco Serraboella is a fitting wine for the vintage. The fruit is open-knit and generous, and you are aware of some of the heat and generally dry conditions that shaped this challenging growing season. Even more problematic was the dramatic loss of fruit following hail and freeze in April. The aromas are not overripe, but you do get dried cherry and prune. The tannins are a degree drier. In fact, the scorching conditions of the vintage are much more evident in the textured, astringent tannins of this wine. This is the weaker link in the estate portfolio.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2017 Barbaresco Serraboella has lovely floral aromatics of pure ripe cherry, anise, cedar, and white pepper. Savory with game and iron-rich earth, the palate remains medium-bodied, with generous raspberry fruit, refreshing orange zest, crushed roses, and dusty earth. Drink 2021-2042.
The 2017 Barbaresco Serraboella captures all the best the vintage has to offer. Floral and lifted, the 2017 is a bit more red-fruited and lighter in body than most vintages, but it has plenty of depth as well. A more gracious, finessed side of this Neive cru emerges over time. The 2017 is a sensual, arrestingly beautiful Barbaresco from Cigliuti, although it has plenty of tannic grip. In 2017, the Serraboella doesn’t have the heft and darkness of most years, but at the same time, it reveals a different facet of this site, which is quite intriguing. Sadly, yields are down 80%. The Serraboella is typically done in a combination of cask and smaller barrels, but yields were tiny, only enough to fill a single cask. My impression is that the Serraboella could turn out to be one of the hidden gems of 2017.