Barbaresco Riserva 'Gallina' La Spinetta 2004 (1.5L)
Product price
Description
Nebbiolo grown in the Gallina cru, vinified by Giorgio Rivetti at La Spinetta as a Riserva Barbaresco from Piedmont. The 2004 carries weight here: it marks the first vintage of the estate's Riserva bottlings, a tier reserved for the strongest years. Time in the cellar has done its work, smoothing what was once a more overtly oak-driven house style into something integrated and whole.
The nose suggests a wine younger than its years, precise and lifted, with smoked ham, licorice, dried flowers, rosehip, anise and a balsamic edge. On the palate it turns plush and generous, sweet herbs and menthol giving way to tobacco, cinnamon, plum and red cherry, all framed by a perfumed, ripe-fruited finish. Powerful but graceful, it has aged beautifully and has plenty of road left ahead of it.
Product Details
| Category | Wine |
| Color | Red |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Piedmont |
| Subregion | Barbaresco |
| Varietal | Nebbiolo |
| Producer | La Spinetta |
| Vintage | NV |
| Size | 1.5 L |
| Subtype | Still |
Expert Reviews
This wine was tasted in a magnum. The 2004 Barbaresco Riserva Vigneto Gallina offers sheer delight and power. The fine intensity and pristine quality of the bouquet could make you think the wine is younger than it really is. Smoked ham, licorice, dried flowers, rosehip, anise seed and balsam notes all stand to attention. The wine has evolved gracefully these past years and promises to continue down its glorious path. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2035. Giorgio Rivetti has unveiled a stunning line of new wines, and a few surprises as well, from his impeccable winery and tasting room at the foot of the Grinzane Cavour castle. The line of Riserva Barbarescos and Riserva Barolo will only be bottled in magnums in the best vintages. The year 2004 is the inaugural vintage of these special releases. Giorgio purchased a beautiful estate in the Grinzane Cavour estate for making Barolo. His vineyard graces a dome-shaped hill and is planted with 55- to 60-year-old Nebbiolo vines. Importers: Indigenous Selections, Fort Lauderdale, FL; tel. (954) 530-4021; Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300. (Wine Advocate, June 2013)
The 2004 Barbaresco Riserva Gallina (magnum) is beautiful. Sweet herbs, menthol, tobacco, cinnamon, plums and red cherries wrap around the palate in a super-sexy, luscious Barbaresco loaded with personality. Tasted from magnum, the 2004 Riserva has barely budged. Readers lucky enough to own the magnums can look forward to another decade plus of exceptional drinking. The 2004 recalls a period in La Spinetta' s history when the wines were oakier, but now, after some years in bottle, all of the elements have come together nicely. A burst of super-ripe, opulent fruit rounds out the perfumed finish in this dazzling Barbaresco from La Spinetta. (Vinous, October 2013)