2020 La Ca’ Növa, Barbaresco DOCG, Montefico Cru, Vigna Bric Mentina, Piemonte, Italy.
Brilliant stuff, this Montefico Barbaresco by La Ca’ Növa, is pure and deep Nebbiolo that while still firm and youthful is already singing and rewarding in the glass, even without decanting, showing off beautiful floral aromatics and a classic profile of brandied cherry, damson plum, mulberry/currant and dark berry fruits, along with cinnamon spice, light cedar, tilled earth, minty herb and black licorice. The tannins are velvety and ripe, but they are there and give this dark garnet wine a serious presence and I’m sure it will age fabulously well, though it will be impeccable throughout its life, I should have bought more on pre-arrival. In the last five years, La Ca’ Növa has become a real go to for top quality Barbaresco that is not a huge hit on the wallet and I highly recommend chasing down their current releases, especially this one. This single cru Barbaresco, like all the wines here at La Ca’ Növa was fermented traditionally 100% de-stemmed with native yeasts with everything done by hand using smaller sized open top barrels, as was done in older and simpler times. The maceration, as noted previously, is interestingly done with a large wooden spoon used to stir the musts, which the winery notes, is very difficult and time consuming work that helps extract a much richer color as well as more polyphenols. Before becoming a winery they were growers, even selling grapes to Gaja, until they began bottling under their own label. They prefer to age their Barbaresco in Austrian, rather than the classic Slavonian oak botti and the owners don’t have much in the way of modern technology. The Montefico Cru is located in the northwest part of Barbaresco, where there is a good presence of marl in the calcareous clay subsoil and while under the radar supplies some fantastic grapes to some very coveted estates.
The La Ca’ Nova estate, as noted in previous reviews, is a little family winery set in a farmhouse from 19th century, in the center of Barbaresco, it was founded in the ’70s, and is run by the Rocca brothers who split between themselves the different roles needed, from the cellar and vines to public relations and admin work. This estate, as mentioned in my prior reviews, has winemaker Marco Rocca guiding the wines here, with the property located just outside of the historic village of Barbaresco, producing authentically styled wines that way over deliver for the price, especially this famed Montestefano cru version. Marco’s main passion is his Nebbiolo parcels and his trio of Barbaresco wines, but he also does Dolcetto, Barbera, as well as a entry level Langhe Nebbiolo. All of which should be searched for, but especially the Barbaresco DOCG, Montefico and Cru Montestefano, as they way over deliver, they are fantastic at their price point. The winery has prized parcels, set on marl, clay and limestone soils, mostly within in the Montefico and Montestefano crus, as well as nice sites within the Barbaresco DOCG zone. La Ca’ Növa is a set up in an old farmhouse from 19th century, it is situated in the center of Barbaresco. The vineyards themselves are treated in full respect of the environment and farmed sustainably allowing for the natural vegetative cycle of the vines, with those at the Montefico and Montestefano crus being their joint signature wines and most coveted vines. These La Ca’ Növa Barbarescos really got my attention with their 2016s, and I usually grab a couple of each of their offerings, including the Barbaresco “Normale”, this Montefico, and in particular their Montestefano, which typically is the most desirable in the lineup, though this 2020 Montefico is absolutely outstanding. It should be said, the Barbaresco Montefico Vigna Bric Mentina is a wine that if tasted blind and told it was a $150 bottle, you’d say it was worth every penny!
($50 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive