2018 Barbaresco Cole

Moccagatta endured two very challenging vintages in 2017 and 2018. The 2017s, which I reviewed last year, retain the battle scars of a season marked by frost, hail and dry, warm weather. Unfortunately, hail was also an issue in 2018. The Minuto family did not bottle their Basarin because the vineyard was still recovering from damage sustained in 2017. Instead, that fruit went into the straight Barbaresco bottling. The 2018 Barbarescos showed well, all things considered. Yields are down dramatically, especially for the Bric Balin, where severe selection resulted in a tiny production of just one-third of the normal quantity. The wines are made as they have been for the past thirty or so years. Fermentation is done in stainless steel and the wines are aged in a combination of new and used French oak barrels.