BARBERA D'ALBA
2020 Pairolero Sottimano
Beautiful deeply fruited, sleekly aromatic nose of black cherry, black berry, violet and sweet plum. An undercut of raspberry, blackberry, ripely acid damson, succulent and deep with a floral violet finish.L&S (May 2022)
75cl bottles (case of 6)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
Spontaneous fermentation. Thirty days on skins, aged in small but older oak. Deepish crimson. Scented with tangy red fruits, good freshness, firm chewy tannins. Feels a little bit alcoholic but it is the end of the tasting and the sample is a bit warm. A powerful and just-balanced wine with real persistence. Polished by the oak. (JH) 14.5% Drinking range: 2024 - 2031 Rating: 16.5 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2023)
Sottimano
The next generation of Andrea, Elena and Claudia Sottimano are now at the helm here and this exquisite estate continues to make better and better wines - some of the finest in Barbaresco. This sixteen hectare estate is based in the Cotta' region of Barbaresco, and the Sottimano family have over the years bought outstanding vineyards in the 'crus' of Currà, Cottà, Fausoni, Pajore and Basarin. In the vineyard they work organically and aim to limit yields. The winemaking is as low-intervention as possible, using only natural yeasts and then bottling without filtering or fining. All of these 'crus' are given exactly the same élevage, so as to allow the individual 'terroirs' to express their character. Terroir expression is the target here - and these amazing wines are as much an education as a joy to drink.
There are five different crus - each with very specific attributes where they produce their distinctly different Barbarescos. The latest edition is Basarin, with a mixture of clay, limestone and sand, is at about four hundred metres above sea level. This produces the estate's Langhe Nebbiolo, which is basically 'village Barbaresco', as the vines are very young (10-15 years old). It makes for wines that are always very elegant, refined, tannins are silky and softer, nuanced of spices and herbs (eucalyptus).
Fausoni, on sand and clay, makes wines that are always very elegant - mint, liquorice and little red fruits. This is in the historical part of Neive.
Currà, on clay and limestone, is one of the smallest cru of the whole appellation, wines are always very intense and powerful, hard-bodied and with good tannins. Hints of spices and smoke are characteristics of this area.
Cottà, on limestone with clay is one of the oldest cru in Barbaresco, vines are always very old here (fifty years and older) and the colours are just a little bit lighter than other vineyards (because of the clay), but they have a very distinctive nose of dark fruits and mint, a great elegance and mineral tannins.
Pajore is almost entirely on limestone with just a little clay. This is the highest vineyard of all, at 420 metres above sea level. The vines are very old, and it is always the most mineral and elegant of the four Barbarescos. Limestone brings into the wine a great purity of fruit, a distinctive aroma of spices and tobacco (cigar box) and a very unusual quality of tannins, firm but very mineral.
ORDERING VIA OUR WEBSITE:
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- Submit your Wishlist order form with your details and please indicate any special requirements in the notes, including whether you would like the wines duty paid.
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Please note that certain wines are on very tight allocations and will first be offered to customers who buy across the range. If you have any queries, please email our private clients team or speak to your usual L&S contact.
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STORAGE OPTIONS:
Wines bought in bond are scheduled to arrive at our DP (Duty Paid) warehouse a few weeks after the campaign closes. If you do not wish to take home delivery, Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private clients team for more information.
While helpful, we do not require a firm commitment on delivery destination to process your order at this stage. Our team will be in contact with you when your wines arrive in the UK to confirm the necessary delivery details.
PIEDMONT LATEST RELEASES FAQ
OFFER: All wines are offered subject to availability and final confirmation.
PRICING: All prices are quoted IN BOND ex-VAT, by the case size stated. Please double check that the desired case size does match what is being offered as wines are variously listed in threes, sixes, dozens, halves and larger formats.
DELIVERY - TIMING: This is an in bond offer so the wines are not yet physically available for delivery in our DP warehouse. They will be delivered to our DP warehouse a few weeks after the campaign closes. If you require wines to be delivered by a certain date, please advise us at the time of ordering.
DELIVERY - FEES: In bond delivery to an Elephant Storage account (for more information see 'Storage Options' opposite) is free of charge. Transfer of wines to any third party bond (i.e. not Elephant Storage) will incur an administration charge of £16.50 + VAT for all orders under £500. If you require wines duty paid, please indicate this in your Wishlist order form. A duty & VAT invoice will be raised once all the wines on your order are available for shipment. Once the relevant duty & VAT has been settled, we will ship the wines to your nominated address as per our normal duty paid Delivery Terms.
PAYMENT: All orders will be invoiced for immediate payment by cheque, cash, debit card or cleared funds to our account. We regret that we cannot accept credit cards for primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.