2014 Barbaresco Ovello Vigna Loreto

This is a beautiful set of wines from the Rocca family. In recent years, the wines have become more refined and nuanced than they were previously. The 2014s are all nervous and tightly wound at this stage. I would advise cellaring them for at least a few years. If opened young, the wines need at least several hours of air. Harvest started on October 10, which is later than the norm these days. The Barbarescos saw 24 months in 20-HL Stockinger barrels and were bottled between November and December 2016. I found the 2014s less expressive than they were from cask, especially in their aromatics. Readers should be in no rush to open these wines. Albino Rocca fans can look forward to a new Barbaresco from Cottà that will make its debut next year with the 2015 vintage. Tasted from cask, that wine appears to have a brilliant future.