Barbaresco Rabajà, Cascina Luisin

Pale ruby. Iron and raspberry, complex and deep, truly exciting. Changes all the time. Compact and conveying a sense of rich fruit, and then lashings of ripe acidity and all tied up by the fine, intense tannins. Simply gorgeous. - Walter Speller

Rabajà stands out in the 2019 vintage. Here, it gives an intense Barbaresco full of floral rose, dried cherry and rhubarb, sweetened with cinnamon spice. The tannins are refined and elegant, a dusty Nebbiolo signature yet very well ripened. But it is the vibrancy of strawberry and tar which impresses more, lacking any foursquare character. A relaxing drink despite its structure, with a classy tobacco finish. Plenty of cellar potential. - Aldo Fiorello

Aromas of rose, violet and spice greet the nose along with a whiff of new leather. Savory and structured, the palate offers juicy raspberry, cherry compote and star anise accompanied by taut, fine-grained tannins and bright acidity. - Kerin O'Keefe

Just mid ruby with orange tinges. Lifted cherry fruit with hints of cumin. Quite pretty. Soft cherry fruit with a long nerve of acidity running through the palate. Elegant, almost lightweight on the palate but with a firm, muscular structure. Closes up on the finish, and needs much more time. The tannins aren't rough, but certainly make their presence felt, but there is enough of a core of fruit to see this evolve with more bottle age. - Walter Speller

Cascina Luisin producerer ikke meget mere end 30.000 flasker årligt; til gengæld gøres det ordentligt. Det er nebbiolo efter de traditionelle forskrifter med naturlig gæring og lagring i store neutrale fade. Resultatet er en farvemæssigt lys og transparent barbaresco med elegante noter af roser, røde kirsebær, ribs og et strejf af mentol. De forførende noter fortsætter i munden, mens den røde frugt udfolder sin finesserige karakter, inden den salte mineralitet melder sig på banen med sit mundvandsrivende væsen. Dette er nebbbiolo i sin reneste og mest elegante form, og man skal være lavet af sten for ikke at trække på smilebåndet, når man smager på den; ganske enkelt fremragende. - Rasmus Palsgård

The nose is subdued but shows some ripe raspberry fruit, while the attack is expansive, rich and broad, with admirable concentration. At present it's rather severe and rigid, but has ample fruit, good depth and plenty of extract, adding up to a solid and serious wine from vines with an average age of 35 years. A persistent finish. This clearly needs time.

Tasted blind. Mid ruby. A little leafy and closed on the nose. Very slow to open up. Subtle rather than powerful yet with plenty of concentration. Brooding and with long, chewy tannins. Finely tuned balance and has real potential. - Walter Speller

Forest floor, blue flower, leather and pipe tobacco aromas shape the nose. Elegantly structured, the taut palate offers sour cherry, raspberry compote, white pepper and wild herbs, while firm, refined tannins and fresh acidity lend finesse and balance. - Kerin O'Keefe

Wild berry, camphor, star anise and forest floor aromas lead the way. Smooth and elegant, the taut polished palate doles out dried cherry, blood orange, licorice and tobacco while fine-grained tannins provide the framework. - Kerin O'Keefe

Barbaresco. Tasted blind. Maturing and just mid ruby with orange tinges. Brooding and a little closed and weedy on the nose. Really holding back on the palate too, or is this just because all the other wines have an abundance of fruit? Very slow to unfurl and with plenty of tannins on the finish, but the brooding fruit holds up effortlessly. - Walter Speller

The 2015 Barbaresco Rabajà is powerful, vibrant and energetic. Dark berry fruit, menthol, licorice and balsamic-infused flavors all develop in the glass. Medium in body and layered, the 2015 will benefit from another year or two in bottle. Even today, though, the 2015 is relatively open-knit for a young Barbaresco from Rabajà. A rush of spiced, mentholated notes fill out the finish nicely. - Antonio Galloni