Pasquale Pelissero, Barbaresco “Bricco San Giuliano” Online now

Pasquale Pelissero, Barbaresco “Bricco San Giuliano”

Whereas 2015 and 2016 were two of the greatest Barbaresco vintages in recent memory, 2017 had its share of obstacles, especially for producers in the Pelissero family’s home village of Neive. But if the Pelisseros, or their “Bricco San Giuliano” vineyard, experienced any difficulties, there’s no evidence of it in this sensational ’17—which also happens to be a category-best value. Small-scale, single-vineyard Barbaresco under $40 is all but impossible to come by these days, save for a tiny handful of old-line producers whose longevity in the region has enabled them to hold the line. 

The Pasquale Pelissero estate certainly fits that description, and as I look back over the past few years of SommSelect offers, their name pops up time and again: Over the last few vintages, ’17 included, this small, family-run property has continued to up its game, and as a Barbaresco lover who also happens to be cheap, I appreciate them so very much. Unlike some wine aficionados, I like to brag about how little I paid for a great bottle of wine, so you can be sure I’ll be trotting this one out often over the next few years. I strongly recommend you follow my lead—the wine is drinking beautifully and promises to do so for many years to come.

And this despite a vintage during which much of the village of Neive experienced both hail and frost damage during the spring, which in some cases led to crop losses. Antonio Galloni’s Vinous reported extensive losses in vineyards such as “Basarin,” which is just a little bit to the south of “Bricco San Giuliano.” It could be Bricco San Giuliano’s altitude (400 meters) that spared it from frost, but with hail, it was more likely just good luck. In any event, the Pelisseros were not only able to bottle a wine from the site in ’17, but a very good one. What a great piece of luck that this is the first 2017 I’ve tasted!

Neive is one of the three main villages of the Barbaresco DOCG (the others are Barbaresco itself and Treiso), and, in my experience, produces the prettiest, most floral, most classically structured styles of Barbaresco. Most of the village’s best-known cru vineyards—including Albesani/Santo Stefano, made internationally famous by the late Bruno Giacosa—have a southwestern exposure, an aspect which tends to result in more firmly tannic styles of wine. “Bricco San Giuliano,” itself a southwest-facing site (bricco is a Piedmontese word referring to the crest of a hill), is effectively a monopole (sole ownership): It is the crown jewel of the Cascina Crosa farmstead, which the brothers Giovanni and Giuseppe Pelissero purchased from a local noble family in 1921. Giuseppe’s son Pasquale, known as “Papa,” brought the wine estate into the modern era, releasing his first commercial vintage in 1971 and continuing to raise its profile until his death in 2007; now it’s Pasquale’s daughter, Ornella, who works the family vineyards with the help of her husband, Lorenzo and son, Simone. 

Great Nebbiolo is always a tug-of-war between fruit and earth, sweet and savory, and that dynamic is in full effect here. There’s the cherry kirsch checked by hints of tar and tobacco. The red currant and dried cherry countered by bitter orange peel and a varnish-y note like the inside of an antique cabinet. The rose petal florals and the humid, funky soil. This wine presents all these in richer-than-normal fashion: It’s a Barbaresco that could stand toe-to-toe with many a Barolo in terms of depth and tannic structure.

Most of the wine in this 2017 aged 24 months in large (25-30 hectoliter) French oak barrels, with 10% aged for the same period in new French oak barriques. In the glass, it’s a deep ruby with garnet reflections. Sandalwood spice and some oak tannin is detectable at this youthful stage, but so is a deep core of black cherry and fraises de bois fruit and a strong underpinning of crushed graphite, black tea, black trumpet mushroom, and lots of underbrush. Medium-plus in body and taut on the palate (it’s a firmer, leaner wine than the 2015 we offered), this needs a 60+-minute decant if you want to maximize enjoyment now; some braised beef cheeks or other richer meat dish to pair with it wouldn’t hurt, either. I don’t see this one going for 20 years, but 5-10 is well within its reach (and who wants to wait 20 years, anyway?). If any of mine are still around then, I’ll be crowing about it to anyone who’ll listen. Enjoy!