From: Piedmont, Italy
Varietal: 100% Nebbiolo
Taste & Critical Acclaim: This is always one of our favorites, and this year is no exception. In fact, this 2019 Langhe Nebbiolo embraces all the varietal characteristics with style, elegance, and longevity. Give this wine a few swirls in the glass to get it started and then watch it happily unfold.
The 2019 Langhe Nebbiolo emerges from young vines in Trifolera. Orange peel, spice, rose petal, mint and sweet red cherry are all laced together. Ethereal and perfumed, the 2019 is an absolute delight. I would prefer to drink it over the next handful of years. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous
JS 91 James Suckling
Give this a little swirl to bring out the lovely wild-strawberries and ash-like mineral notes. Some sweet floral notes, too. Medium to light body with bright acidity, but tight, slightly drying tannins for now. Should even out very soon. Real young nebbiolo here. Drink from 2022.
RP 90 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Giuseppe Cortese 2019 Langhe Nebbiolo pours from the bottle with a lean color and appearance. It shows shiny highlights of both garnet and darker shade of purplish ruby. This wine happily and fullheartedly embraces all of the most naked characteristics of the Nebbiolo grape, with forest fruit, tilled earth and freshly milled white pepper. This is a terrific wine for an informal trattoria meal with a huge spread of appetizers and slices of pizza shared by friends from the same pie.
Pairing: Pairing this wine is a snap, and the following includes popular go-to options. We’d recommend sharing this wine with friends over a charcuterie board and pizza, or serving this alongside dishes that feature mushrooms or truffles. Italian pastas, risotto, roasted pork or poultry, pork/chicken/beef and rice dishes that use elements of Chinese five spice or have an umami element are also great ideas (check out the recipe below). And, if you love BBQ or grilled food, braised meats or root vegetables, pork belly, and even homemade smashed burgers works wonderfully with this lovely red.
Five-Spice Short Ribs
Recipe from Chow Bar
Adapted by Florence Fabricant
About. The story of Giuseppe Cortese begins in the 60’s when Barbaresco was gradually consolidating its global importance after the difficulties following the Second World War. He decided to go further than his forefathers and invest in the precise cultivation of the family vineyards, hoping it could be the springboard for winemaking on their own. It made sense logistically, the family lived on the top of a hill that has always produced grapes of the highest level, the Rabajà vineyard (in Barbaresco). He established the winery in 1971 and today, the tradition continues with Giuseppe’s children, Pier Carlo and Tiziana along with her husband Gabriele.
Often regarded as Barolo’s little brother, Langhe Nebbiolo offers a more approachable, softer expression of the noble Nebbiolo grape which is revered throughout the Piedmont region. The grapes come from the revered Rabajà vineyard, which stretches over the top of the hill that extends from Asili to Trifolera. Contrary to what it looks like from a distance, the Rabajà hill is not homogeneous and can be divided into two areas. The first, bordering on Asili, coincides with the charming amphitheater dominating the Martinenga and is mostly exposed to the southwest. The second one has a more linear appearance and is exposed to the south, although there are some variations due to the hill’s undulating ground. In both cases, the wine’s style is definitely more full-bodied and firmer compared with Asili and Martinenga (although the second area tends, at times, to yield a stiffer and more mineral wine).
Produced with grapes from the younger vines than Cortese’s Barbaresco, it has all the character and elegance of the great Nebbiolo with an intense and delicate aroma; dry, fresh and pleasant flavor with the typical tannic balance; garnet red color. The grapes are crushed and macerated in contact with the skins for fifteen days to ensure greater color extraction. After fermentation, the wine is aged for one year in a combination of new and seasoned large oak barrels.
