DOZEN 2021 Giuseppe Cortese Barbaresco Rabaja ($104.17 a bottle)

Variety: Nebbiolo

A long 30-day maceration in stainless steel and concrete precedes ageing in old, large-format Slovenian oak for 20–22 months. The fruit is drawn from the most prized parcels across the estate’s Rabajà holdings, delivering an added level of typicity, structure and refinement, with the ethereal character for which the cru is known.

The 2021 Barbaresco Rabajà is complex, dynamic and youthfully austere—in other words, it's classic Rabajà. Dark-toned fruit, menthol, licorice, spice, gravel, incense, tobacco and dried herbs fill out the layers. Medium in body and complex, with myriad shades of expression, the 2021 is a drop-dead gorgeous beauty. Readers can also expect a Riserva edition.

95 points

Antonio Galloni, vinous.com