2020 Rivetti, G.(La Spinetta) - Barbaresco Gallina (750ml)
La Spinetta, meaning “top of the hill,” is the hilltop in Castagnole Lanze where Giuseppe “Pin” Rivetti and his wife Lidia settled in 1977, in the heart of Moscato d’Asti country. Their sons Giorgio, Bruno and Carlo built the estate into one of Piedmont’s most celebrated producers. They expanded from single-vineyard Moscato into Barbera, Barbaresco and later Barolo. The Albrecht Dürer rhinoceros on the labels has become one of the most recognizable images in Italian wine.
Gallina was the estate’s first Barbaresco, first made in 1995, and the first wine to carry the rhino label. It comes from a five-hectare cru in Neive, the first Barbaresco vineyard Giorgio acquired. The Nebbiolo vines are about 55 years old and grow at around 250 meters on south-facing calcareous marl with plenty of light-colored sand. The wine ages about 20 months in French barriques, roughly a third of them new, then spends another year in bottle. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered.
The warm 2020 vintage gives this Barbaresco a ripe, generous side, with cherry, cassis, dried flowers, herbs, spice and cured tobacco. It is mid-weight, poised and open-knit, with a balance that makes it enjoyable now. It pairs well with grilled meats, game or aged cheeses.