# Barbaresco (2021)

- **Producer:** Azienda Agricola La Ca' Növa
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Nebbiolo
- **Region:** Piemonte, Italy
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 14.5%
- **Average price:** €38
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 16–18 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** cherry, plum, rose, violet, mint, lavender, white pepper, liquorice, leather, tar

## About this wine

Located in a 19th-century farmhouse on the edge of the Barbaresco village in Piedmont, Azienda Agricola La Ca' Növa is owned and operated by the Rocca family. Patriarch Pietro Rocca established the estate's commercial bottling in the early 1970s, having previously sold top-quality grapes to legendary producers like Angelo Gaja. Today, Pietro works alongside his sons, Marco (enologist) and Ivan (agronomist), managing 14 hectares of sustainably farmed vineyards. The estate is widely celebrated among collectors as one of the finest value producers in the entire region, consistently yielding authentic, grand-cru level Barbaresco without commercial compromise.

## Interesting facts

- Before bottling under their own label in the 1970s, the Rocca family sold their prime grape harvests to historic icons like Angelo Gaja.
- The winery uses steccatura, an ancient technique keeping the grape cap submerged under wine using horizontal wooden planks.
- Aged exclusively in neutral 3,000-liter untoasted Austrian oak casks to maintain pure, unadulterated Nebbiolo expression.

## Food pairing

High acidity and firm, fine-grained tannins require dishes rich in fat, protein, and earthiness. The wine's structural tension effortlessly cuts through rich meats and buttery sauces, while its savory undertones complement earth-driven elements like mushrooms and truffles.

## Wine making process

Hand-harvested in early to mid-October 2021 from younger and mid-aged vines across top parcels, the grapes undergo 100% spontaneous fermentation with wild yeasts in stainless steel and open-top wooden vats without temperature control. Skin contact lasts 15 to 20 days utilizing the traditional steccatura method, which keeps the grape cap submerged using horizontal wooden planks. The wine is aged for 14 to 18 months in large neutral 3,000-liter untoasted Austrian oak casks (botti grandi), ensuring zero new oak influence, and is bottled unfiltered without fining.