The two vintages of Barbaresco currently cycling through our market are 2015 and 2016, so I’m going to go ahead and say we’re living in a golden age of Barbaresco. The ’15s were uncommonly generous, offering loads of pleasure right out of the gate, while 2016s are described as more classically structured—and you couldn’t ask for a more perfect example of classic Barbaresco structure than today’s majestic 2016 from Piero Busso.
But because some people hear the term “classically structured” and immediately think “impenetrably tannic,” let me add a few caveats: “structure” in wine is more than just tannin (just as “terroir” is more than just soil), and we’re not in the 1960s, when it was essentially standard practice to make wine that was undrinkable on release. Busso’s “San Stunet” is tradition and modernity coming together in the best possible way, a wine which, when first opened, feels like an idling Ferrari right before it is put into gear. It growls, but soon enough, it purrs, and any experienced taster will take one sip of it and know instantly that 20+ years of positive evolution is well within its reach. Of all the amazing ’15s and ’16s we’ve tasted from Piedmont, Barolo and Barbaresco alike, few have screamed “collector’s item” as loudly as this one. Majestic is not too strong a word, as those of you lucky enough to acquire some will soon learn. Up to six per customer until it sells out!
The precision and tightly coiled energy of this wine are still with me many weeks after first tasting it. As for what it promises to be in 5-7 years’ time—to say nothing of 20—I’m going to take an educated guess and say spectacular. From their home base atop the cru vineyard called “Albesani,” the Busso family produces some of the most representative wines of their home village of Neive: the most high-toned, fine-tuned expressions of Nebbiolo in Barbaresco, from some of the appellation’s highest-elevation vineyards. Neive wines are a great reminder that acidity is as critical a component of structure as tannin, and that, ultimately, harmony of all the elements is the goal.
In all, the Bussos farm just 10 hectares of vineyards, most of them in Neive; the “San Stunet” cru, however, is in neighboring Treiso, and is perhaps the steepest, most rugged site in their collection, with a 16% grade and very thin topsoil over its limestone bedrock. It sits at about 1,200 feet in altitude, putting it up among the highest-elevation parcels in the area. As with all their single-vineyard wines, the Bussos produce very little “San Stunet,” with quantities measured in the hundreds of cases.
This is a tight-knit family operation, with Piero and Lucia Busso now joined by their son, Pierguido, and daughter, Emanuela, in managing all phases of production. Their ‘house style’ is resolutely traditional, with long, slow, native-yeast fermentations followed by aging in large, Slavonian oak vats (botti). Today’s wine, from 25-year-old vines, was fermented in upright oak vats called tini and aged for two years in 25-hectoliter oak casks, followed by six months in bottle. What you will notice first is the incredibly complex perfume and taut, yet refined, structure. The tannins are undoubtedly present but they are uncommonly fine-grained, perfectly framing a palate brimming with bright red fruits (cherries, currants, strawberries), rose petals, warm spice, cedar, orange peel, leather, and so much more. If you’re the type to jot down tasting notes, you’ll fill a notebook rather quickly with this one—especially if you decant it 120 minutes before serving and allow it to blossom further in the glass over a long, leisurely meal. Serve it at 60-65 degrees in Burgundy stems and try it alongside the earthy, cheesy mushroom cannelloni recipe we’ve attached here. For the moment, you need some fat to tame this high-strung powerhouse, but give it time: This wine has a glorious, and long, prime ahead of it.
