2018 Barbaresco Fausoni Vigna del Salto

Neive. Tasted blind. Palish ruby. Lifted balsamic nose with hints of exotic spice. In spite of its pale appearance there is plenty of concentration of ripe fruit on the palate, but it closes up swiftly. Bags of chewy tannins and notes of gingerbread, which might indicate late-harvested fruit. (WS)

With fruit from Neive, the 2018 Barbaresco Fausoni is another gorgeous wine from Sottimano. This expression is polished and glossy, showing enormous purity to all the senses. You can get very enthusiastic about this bottle, thanks to the graceful nature of its cassis, dried raspberry and plum-like aromas. These wines from the village of Neive show excellent results in this cooler 2018 vintage.

The 2018 Barbaresco Fausoni is flush with ripe peach, rose petal, dried strawberry, and white truffle. The structure is lean but inviting, with dried raspberry, orange zest, and dried tea as well as fine tannins. Refreshing and open, this is ready for rather youthful enjoyment. Drink 2021-2034. Sottimano is located in Barbaresco, with holdings in the five crus of Basarin, Curra, Fausoni, Cotta, and Pajore. The estate was founded in the late 1960s by RIno Sottimano and is today led by the entire family, Andrea, Elena, and Claudia. They do not used any herbicides or pesticides in the vineyard, and they only use minimal sulfur additions at bottling. Fermentation is carried out in wood, of which approximately 30% is new, and aging is in neutral barriques for 18-20 months.