2018 Poderi Colla, Barbaresco DOCG, Tenuta Roncaglia, Piedmonte, Italy.
The heavenly Tenuta Roncaglia Barbaresco by Poderi Colla, still an under the radar producer, is showing lots of promise and even in its youth remarkably poised and gorgeously detailed with fine aromatics, complexity and exceptional purity of fruit with classic brandied cherry, damson plum, brambly raspberry and Moro orange fruits leading the way on the medium to full bodied palate. There’s accents of lilacs, sandalwood, tar, leather and black licorice adding to the pleasure and depth here in Colla’s single cru Barbaresco and the the tension between fruit and savory tones are perfectly judge with an exclamation point on elegance with a subtle mineral element and smooth underlying tannins along with a bright burst of natural acidity. The Roncaglia is potentially going to get better and it is much more complete when paired with cuisine, obviously, as with any Nebbiolo, but this one is a heightened example, which I highly recommend. The Roncaglia cru is really big and sometimes not rated as high as it deserves, though now a portion of the cru now belongs to Vietti, so I gotta think its fortunes are on the rise and more fame will follow, but the Collas own the Tenuata Roncaglia estate and vineyards in its entirety, which is a unique part that has always had admires.
The Colla family, led by the late Beppe Colla, sold their original winery, the famous Prunotto, which is now owned by the Antinori empire, and bought three small lesser known estates in the early 1990s and started to operate them under the single umbrella of Poderi Colla, these include Dardi le Rose in Monforte d’Alba’s Barolo Bussia cru, Tenuta Roncaglia of Barbaresco, where this wine comes from, and the Cascina Drago, just across the road from Barbaresco and near Gaja’s legendary Crus. All of which are now outstanding sites in their own right and now under Tino Colla make of the most beautiful and terroir distinct wines in the region, especially their Nebbiolo offerings, but I also love their their Barbera and Dolcetto bottlings as I’ve reported on here in prior reviews. Going back to Roncaglia, the Roncaglie is a steep hillside, almost an amphitheater, blessed with generous south to southwest exposure and set on fabulous calcareous marl soils and lots of sand, all of which makes for amazing conditions for top notch Nebbiolo, as witnessed here. Timo employs a traditional regime in his Nebbiolo wines with tank ferments and extended aging in well used large Botti (oak casks) to promote transparency and allow for the perfect maturing of his outstanding wines, these should be on your radar if you are Nebbiolo inclined!
($71 Est.) 95 Points,grapelive