“There is a humanity in these wines that is hard to describe with words” – Antonio Galloni, Vinous
We are pleased to highlight the 2011 Asili Riserva Barbaresco from Bruno Giacosa.
This highly-sought after wine, comes from one of the most reputable and well-established producers in Northern Italy.
Bruno Giacosa’s Asili is the quintessential Barbaresco. The late, great Bruno first purchased plots in the 1980s but it wasn’t until 1996 when he purchased his best parcel of vines. This was when the Asili we know and love today began to take shape. Now, it is a reference point for Piedmont’s finest wines and what the Nebbiolo grape can achieve.
Asili represents one of the most important single vineyards of Barbaresco. The vineyards are comprised of 2.5 hectares, planted in calcareous clay soils with a sandy vein. The Asili wines showcase an expressive and elegant profile and it’s one of the wines that made Giacosa stand above others in the area.
Writing in Decanter, Stephen Brook describes Asili’s “incomparable perfume and finesse”. With its tense and structured palate and fine-grained tannins, Asili really begins to show its potential after about 10 years from the vintage, with its sublime perfume, supple fruit and striking terroir expression.
Tasting notes
“Good medium red. Crushed cherry, raspberry, rose petal and botanical herbs on the tangy nose and palate. If the Santo Stefano is a more masculine, underbrushy style of Nebbiolo, this one is a perfume bomb in the mouth, incredibly silky and fine-grained but with outstanding sappy tang to leaven its thickness. Most impressive today on the slowly mounting, elegant, mouth-saturating back end, which features big but fine-grained tannins and outstanding rising length. A real essence of Nebbiolo.”
– 96+/100, Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Vintage report
2011 proved to be a good year for Piedmont.
After an intensely cold winter, spring began with heavy rain. But fortunately temperatures rose in April, prompting an early budburst and flowering. Temperatures continued to rise, but were balanced by ample rain. This allowed for the development of rich flavours, alongside high alcohol levels. Refreshing rains also helped the grapes retain their aromatic character. Lower temperatures at night were also particularly beneficial to Nebbiolo.
The best examples from this vintage exhibited a deeply concentrated fruit character, rich in colour, with ripe tannins. Wines from this year will rewards long-term cellaring.
Terroir
Asili is the very essence of Barbaresco, and arguably its most celebrated cru. This exemplary vineyard offers the top wines of the denomination. It is recognised for its elegant and refined style of wines from the Nebbiolo variety.
The entire Barbaresco region extends along a ridge which runs from Neive in the north, and to Treiso in the south. This region can more or less be divided into two sectors; the eastern side and the western side. It is in latter where we find Asili, alongside some of the other more renowned crus.
The Asili Cru runs 360 degrees around the ‘bricco’, (the local term for steep hilltop). The altitude of vines ranges from 210 to 290 metres above sea level. The terroir here is quite varied based on exposure to sunlight and altitude.
The soil in Asili is characterised by clay-marl, rich in calcium, but with a significant sandy component. This soil type allows for the grapes to develop a velvety quality. The 14 hectares of vineyards within this cru are planted almost entirely in Nebbiolo, a clear-cut sign of how well this variety develops in this region.
More than any other Barbaresco, the wines from Asili combine power and refinement in a way which no other cru can compete with. It is for this reason that Bruno Giacosa chose to bottle a single-vineyard wine from Asili, at a time when only a handful of other producers were bottling single-vineyard wines.
Producer
Bruno Giacosa is a renowned producer, based in Piedmont. They are particularly known for their intensely perfumed, textured wines from the appellations of Barolo and Barbaresco. His wines are revered globally as he built up his solid reputation over the course of 60 years.
Giacosa himself famously began in the wine trade buying grapes for his father’s wines at the age of 15. He began working full time in family’s cellar rather than studying oenology. By 1960, he was ready to begin his own business and soon became one of Barbaresco’s principal producers. In 1964, Giacosa was the first producer in Piedmont to bottle a single vineyard “cru” from the Santo Stefano vineyard. His standards have remained high ever since. Famously modest, he lets these wines speak or themselves.
Many of Bruno Giacosa’s wines come from trusted growers, rather than estate vineyards. However, in 1982, the house purchased the Falletto vineyard in Serralunga d’Alba and a winery was built. That was followed by plots in La Morra, and in parts of Barbaresco. The vineyard holdings now total 20 hectares (50 acres), and wines made from these vineyards are labelled ‘Azienda Agricola Falletto’. From 2012, all of their Barbaresco and Barolo have been made exclusively from estate-grown fruit.
Bruno Giacosa’s mastery of Nebbiolo was widely recognised amongst wine lovers. His single-vineyard Barolo and Barbaresco set new standards for the whole region, allowing a unique blend of traditional and cutting-edge methods.
His research of perfection was passed on to his daughter Bruna, who has been at the helm of the estate since 2006, and she has continued their efforts to produce exquisite wines. From the floral Barbera to the tensest Nebbiolos, Bruno Giacosa’s wines are an incredible delight to discover.
2011 Bruno Giacosa Asili Barbaresco Riserva (6x75cl) at £1,480.00 duty paid delivery