2012 Barbaresco Rabajà 

Francesco Rocca has done a fabulous job with these new and upcoming releases. Over the last few years, Rocca has gradually moved to longer fermentations, reduced the use of French oak in favor of casks and lowered the temperature in the cellar, all with the goal of slowing down the maturation of his wines. As a result, these Barbarescos are much more classic feeling than in the past. In 2013, the Coparossa and Rabajà spent a year in barrique followed by a year in French oak casks, while the two Riservas are being aged only in cask.

After tasting through these new releases, Bruno Rocca opened his 2004s and 2005s. Those wines were striking, too, although they clearly reflect the aesthetics of the modern school. Bruno Rocca clearly has enough confidence in the wines he made to not feel at all threatened by the direction his children (son Francesco and daughter Luisa) are now taking the family estate in, which is great to see. It would be even better to see more parents give their children the ability to make their own choices. I have to say, it is a very exciting time to be following the developments of this small, family-run estate in the heart of Barbaresco. Bruno Rocca fans will also want to make note of two new Riservas in the range.

Bruno Rocca is one of the most diligent growers in Barbaresco, yet he continues to push forward. Today, the thinking in the vineyard revolves around minimal intervention and leaving a little more leaf cover than was the norm a decade ago. A few years ago, Rocca added full temperature control in the cellar, something he believes will allow him to make even more precise wines. The 2012s are the first Barbarescos made in the new cellar, and while it is impossible to make any meaningful assessments based on one vintage, those wines are striking, In 2012, Bruno Rocca's son Francesco made a new Riserva from Currà, which he aged in cask. That wine has been brilliant on each of the three occasions I have tasted it so far. The Rocca family owns some of the very best vineyards in Barbaresco and Neive, sites where Nebbiolo screams with personality. Fruit like this needs very little makeup. Perhaps because of that reason, I personally find more interest in the Barbaresco, Coparossa and Currà. The Rabajà and Maria Adelaide are conceived in a more obvious, constructed style that gives significant importance to texture and richness, two qualities that are often achieved with some loss of site specificity.