2020 Barbaresco Montefico Vigna Bric Mentina

For us, 2020 was a drier and warmer year than 2021. Consequently, we had lower yields,” Marco Rocca explained." Harvest started during the first week of October, whereas in 2021 we started a week later." In 2021, the crus saw 35 days on the skins, with submerged cap maceration. The 2020s saw shorter time on the skins, 12-15 days for the straight Barbaresco and 28-30 for the crus, which were also bottled with a bit less time in cask. In tasting, the 2020s have closed down a ton, which is probably a positive for the long term. These remain some of the most exciting wines in Barbaresco. Fans of classically built wines who have not tasted La Ca’ Nova yet owe it to themselves to do so.

La Ca' Nova is, in my view, the single most under-the-radar winery in all of Piedmont. The wines just keep getting better and better, yet prices remain exceedingly modest, especially within the context of today’s market. Marco Rocca’s 2019 Barbarescos are every bit as monumental as they were last year. The 2020s are also very fine and pure but appear to have a bit less volume and overall structure. Long macerations with submerged cap fermentation and aging in cask are the norm. In 2020, Rocca shortened the period of extraction by a few days vis-à-vis the 2019s, and also bottled the wines a bit earlier. I left bottles of the 2020s opened for a few days, over which they just got better and better. I can’t recommend these wines highly enough.