2010 Barbera d'Alba Superiore Pairolero

Andrea Sottimano told me he's now taking a more natural and relaxed approach to winemaking, using natural yeasts, allowing for a longer maceration, and not rushing the malolactic fermentations (the last 2010 Barbaresco didn't finish its malo until the summer of 2011). There's no racking or sulfuring before the malos, and he racks his wines only once after the secondary fermentation. (Yes, Sottimano is a Burgundy lover.) The estate is also cutting off leaves at the end of August, which he believes is now enabling them to get good phenolic ripeness at lower alcohol levels. Sottimano describes the 2010s as elegant, sharply defined wines that offer a very pure expression of terroir. These wines showed spectacularly on my September visit, calling to mind the 2010 Burgundies for their precision and perfume. "But 2011 was tough for us due to its low acidity. We had to be careful about the skins, and we worked a lot with the lees and with reduction. It was easy to make over-the-top wines in 2011." (He was not ready to show those wines in September, as he found them to be totally shut down after the bottling two weeks prior to my visit.) Sottimano is also not a fan of the 2009s, as he believes these wines lack class and fully ripe tannins. (Numerous importers, including Michael Skurnik Wines, www.skurnikwines.com; Estate Wines Ltd., www.estatewinesltd.com; and M. S. Walker, www.mswalker.com)

I can't say enough good things about the Sottimano family and the work they have done over the years to firmly establish themselves among Barbaresco's top growers. This is one of the few places in Piedmont where every wine is consistently delicious. The only question is how delicious. In recent years, Andrea Sottimano has worked to give his Barbareschi extended time on the lees in a cold cellar, which also slows down the malos. This distinctly Burgundian approach stands in stark contrast to the way most French oak-aged wines are made in Piedmont, where malos typically follow right after the alcoholic fermentations. I tasted the 2010s just after they were bottled. Readers should take these notes as brief impressions on wines that will continue to come to life with further time in bottle.