Sottimano Cotta Barbaresco 2018

The 2018 Barbaresco Cottá is bright and lifted with tart cherry and floral aromas that rise quickly with intent. The wine's focused approach is exactly what sets it apart. It boasts a direct delivery of wild berry fruit that is polished and brought into focus, thanks to crushed mineral, wild rose and licorice. With 7,000 bottles released, the Cottá vineyard is located in the village of Neive, and this wine is really something special.

Menthol, cedar and dark spice aromas fill the glass along with whiffs of forest floor. Showing youthful tension and energy, the savory, tightly wound palate delivers spiced cranberry, blood orange, star anise and earthy notes recalling truffle and black olive. Firm, close-grained tannins and bright acidity keep it well-balanced but give this time to fully develop. Drink 2026–2038.

The most linear of the lineup, the 2018 Barbaresco Cotta is forward, with chalky earth, medicinal herbs, and sour cherry. There is a persistent lifted drive on the palate, with cranberry, orange peel, and dried leaves. Great for those who prefer a more acid and mineral driven style., drink 2024-2036.

Drawing its fruit from a 2.8-hectare section of the Cottà cru in Neive with 50- to 60-year-old vines, this is a classic offering from Sottimano. The 2017 Barbaresco Cottá unfolds to beautiful intensity and depth. The Neive area suffered hail damage on April 15th, and we are lucky that this parcel was spared, enough so to render a 9,000-bottle release. This estate believes in long maceration times (the wine stays on the skins for up to 40 days) with no selected yeasts. Malolactic fermentation is allowed to happen at its own pace in French barrel, and the wine ages up to 24 months, with lees contact for about half that time. The approach is traditional and straightforward, resulting in a wine that is focused, detailed and polished with bright cherry fruit, licorice and campfire ash. I love the intensity you get here.

This wine leads an impressive set of Barbaresco releases from Sottimano. It comes from a well-exposed, southwest-facing plot in Cottà, a cru in Neive that borders the Barbaresco township, where Andrea Sottimano and his father, Rino, farm vines that are 40 to 60 years old. Fermented with ambient yeasts and aged in barriques (15 percent new), the 2016 shows Neive’s power in its ample tannins and taut acidity. That structure frames its vibrant flavors, the notes of sour cherry and plum laced with lavender, mint and dark spices. It’s tight and precise, with a long, energetic finish.

Combining a fragrant, floral lift of rose petals and tulips with sour cherries and darker, more herbal components of thyme and sesame, this Barbaresco delights from the get-go on the nose. Fruit and tannins are compacted together in the full-bodied center palate, giving space for the sweeping acidity to test the edges and impart form and structure. This is all about finesse and beauty. Drink from 2022.