In Italy’s Barbaresco region, the surname “Vacca” rings out. Multi-generational family dynasties are common in small, insular wine regions like this, and among the Vaccas to make outsized names for themselves in Barbaresco are Aldo Vacca, the longtime manager of the famed Produttori del Barbaresco cooperative, and his cousin, Renato Vacca, whose tiny Cantina del Pino has also garnered worldwide acclaim. Renato’s untimely death in 2020, at just 52, rocked the Italian wine world, but his family, led by his wife, Franca (a winemaker in her own right), has carried on along with the rest of the small team. A sneak preview of current vintages confirms that the future is bright, but this 2020 is a delicious and soaring tribute to Renato’s final vintage. At just five years old it already shows all the greatest hits of Nebbiolo, but of course will age gracefully in your cellar. Stock up and follow its progression over the years, that’s what I plan to do!
Barbaresco is often described as the elegant, regal, and “pretty” sister to Barolo, but that overlooks the fact that these wines are just as complex, age-worthy, and deep as their neighbors. It’s really more about the individual crus than a generalization of the entire region, and in this case we are talking primarily about Ovello. That means soils of mostly limestone, with clay and sand, which does lead to silky, graceful wines that are built on red fruits and flowers, but also built to age.
No one knows this part of Piedmont better than the Vacca clan. The pine tree depicted on the Cantina del Pino labels is said to have been planted by local legend Domizio Cavazza, who served as the director of the Royal Enological School in Alba from 1888-1913. Cavazza made his home on the “Ovello” hill, and was responsible for the creation of the wine cooperative that became Produttori del Barbaresco. Renato Vacca’s great-grandfather purchased Cantina del Pino from Cavazza’s family, and the Vaccas have been firmly rooted in Ovello ever since, with some of their vines in the cru exceeding 70 years of age.
The fruit for the Barbaresco classico comes mostly from the family’s home cru of Ovello, with the remainder from Albesini. Winemaking at Cantina del Pino is, and always has been, traditional. That means the hand-picked, de-stemmed, and sorted Nebbiolo grapes are fermented slowly in large casks for several weeks before being pressed away from the skins. Then the wines aged for another two years on those neutral oak casks and a year further in bottle prior to release.
As hinted at above, the 2020 vintage in Piedmont is proving to be a very friendly, open, and downright delicious one. The tannins are a bit softer than the 2019s (which will need many more years in the cellar) and the up front fruit is gorgeous. In the glass, it’s a medium crimson moving to pink and orange at the rim, offering up the full array of Nebbiolo aromas: red currant, crushed raspberry, pomegranate, blood orange peel, wild herbs, roses, leather, tobacco, and underbrush. It has a gentle, balanced structure, with fine-grained tannins and bright acidity. In the short term, decant it well before service at 60-65 degrees in Burgundy stems and be sure it’s got some food to tame it. It should continue to age gracefully to 2035, likely peaking on its tenth birthday or thereabouts.
