2015 Barbaresco Montefico Vigna Bric Mentina

I was once again deeply impressed with the wines I tasted at La Ca' Nova this past summer. Of all the estates I visit regularly, La Ca' Nova may very well have the most untapped potential. The quality of the wines notwithstanding, prices remain incredibly fair. Proprietor Marco Rocca gives his classically built Barbarescos about 35 days on the skins, including 15 days or so of submerged cap maceration, followed by 18 months or so in cask for the vineyard designates and a bit less time in wood for the straight Barbaresco. The 2015s reflect the personality of the warm year, while the 2016s are the product of a later harvest that allowed for gradual ripening under the shorter, cooler days of September and October. I found all the wines I tasted to be terrific, but the 2016s have a little more of everything. If the bottled wines are as good as what I tasted from barrel prior to bottling, 2016 will be a magical vintage for La Ca' Nova. Readers who have not tasted these wines owe it to themselves to do so.