Taverna - Barbaresco Cotta Senteundes, Piedmont, Italy (2019)

TASTING NOTES

Nebbiolo Rosé, a super rare offspring of Nebbiolo, similar to its parent but slightly lighter in colour and more floral. Taverna always makes soulful, characterful wines - super textured, mineral and with textbook nebbiolo bite and perfumed deliciousness.

Harvested on the 12th of October 2019 in the municipality of Neive, MGA Cottà. The small vineyard was planted in 1995.After the harvest the grapes are destemmed and crushed. The vinification is performed in a stainless steel vat without temperature control and lasts 10 days with regular pumpovers and punch-downs. Postfermentation maceration for 21 days. Ageing was then done for 24 months in new 500 liter French oak tonneaux. Only one tonneau was bottled separately to showcase this unique vineyard, with 592 bottles and 37 magnums produced this vintage.

Taverna Wines, based in Neive (Barbaresco, Piedmont), is a winery with a colourful history. The family estate was founded in the 1930s by the grandfather of current owner Roberto Taverna. The family estate was among the first to bottle Barbaresco Cru wines, for example the “Cascina Slizza” (now part of Gaia-Principe MGA) back in 1974 under the name of Vina Versio, the founder’s widow. She never remarried, kept managing the vineyards and making wines for 30 years until her son-in-law Piero Taverna took over the reigns and ran the estate for another 30 years. However, the first estate’s “official” vintage was not until 2016.

For the family, growing grapes and making and selling wine has always been a side business. Roberto Taverna, who officially became the owner of the estate in 1998, is an electrician, but when his turn came to run the winemaking, he decided to bring the estate to a new level. In 2016 he applied for an official bottler’s license and produced his first Barbaresco.

In 2019 he launched a partnership with Bisso, an internationally renowned wine critic & ‘local’ winemaker. Father Piero still helps at the vineyards (nearly fulltime) and takes care of the private clients. Nonna Vina unfortunately passed away in August 2021, but always kept offering her advice on every vat sample.