Barbaresco (2018)
SommeliAI Insights
Classic Barbaresco from Nebbiolo with red cherry, dried rose petal and savory leather notes, framed by firm, dusty tannins.
About this wine
The 2018 De Forville Barbaresco is 100 percent Nebbiolo from vineyards around the village of Barbaresco, including Loreto, Ovello and Cavanna. On the nose it shows dried cherry, rose petal, and subtle tar with hints of leather and forest floor. The palate is medium to full bodied with firm, dusty tannins and a mouth coating texture that carries flavors of black tea, sweet tobacco and crushed stone. The wine is fermented in stainless steel and then aged for roughly two years in large oak casks before bottling. It is bottled without filtration and reflects the traditional Barbaresco profile of perfume and structure, a wine that will develop more savory and tertiary notes with further cellaring.
About the grape
Nebbiolo is the sole grape of Barbaresco and at De Forville it comes from vineyards within the Barbaresco commune including well known crus such as Rabajà, Pozzo and Loreto where soils are high in limestone and marl. The family has planted and tended Nebbiolo for generations, with many vines around 35 to 40 years old, picked by hand and fermented in stainless steel to preserve varietal lift. De Forville then ages the wine in large oak botte for extended élevage rather than in small barriques, following traditional Barbaresco practices that meet the DOCG rules for Nebbiolo aging. Common local clones like Lampia, Michet and Rosé are typically used in Barbaresco to balance perfume and structure, and in this bottling those clonal choices and the calcareous Langhe soils shape the wine more than any blending grape would.
Quick facts
- 🇧🇪 The De Forville family traces their Barbaresco story back to Belgian roots in 1848, making the winery one of the few Piedmont houses with Walloon ancestry.
- 🏺 De Forville bottles have been produced at the estate since 1940, so the 2018 Barbaresco continues more than 80 years of on site bottling tradition.
- 🌿 The estate owns parcels in famous Barbaresco crus like Loreto, Rabajà and Pozzo, so the 2018 blends vineyard signatures that range from violet and rose to truffle and tar.
- 🏘️ De Forville sits inside the village of Barbaresco, its driveway is famously close to that of Angelo Gaja, making the 2018 part of a very local wine neighborhood.
- ✈️ American importer Neal Rosenthal began bringing De Forville to the US in the late 1970s, so the 2018 Barbaresco arrives in a long running relationship that helped introduce the estate abroad.
Palate profile
