2010 Barbaresco Rabaja

A deceptively medium-bodied wine, Cortese's 2010 Barbaresco Rabajà wraps around the palate with an exotic melange of aromas and flavors. Smoke, incense, new leather, espresso, rose petals, black cherries, plums and menthol all come through in a powerful, mysterious Barbaresco. The 2010 is quite dark and brooding in its personality, but also relatively approachable for such a serious wine, with less of tannic spine and explosiveness of some previous years. I expect the 2010 will drink well with minimum cellaring since the tannins are already quite soft within the context of Barbaresco. In 2010, Cortese opted to skip their Riserva, so all the best juice went into the straight bottling, which remains one of the best values in top-notch Barbaresco.

Just mid ruby with the beginning of orange on a broad rim. Elegant palate weight with sweet fruit and bittersweet, ripe tannins. Will gain in complexity. Elegance and concentration. (WS)

The Cortese winemaking moxie really comes through in the gorgeous 2010 Barbaresco Rabaja. Notable elegance and finesse characterize the wine both in the mouth and on the nose. It shows harmony and clarity with defined nuances of dried berry, cassis, spice, dried mint and licorice that lift beautifully from the glass. The fine texture and polished mouthfeel are especially impressive. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025. The estate was founded in 1971, when Giuseppe Cortese convinced his father to bottle wine instead of selling grapes. Today, it is run by the next generation of the family, Pier Carlo and Tiziana. They just finished enlarging their winery and the tasting room, with terraces that look out at the four hectares they own in the prestigious Rabaja cru. Importer: Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620