File this wine under “affordable collectible.” In fact, file huge chunks of both Barbaresco and Barolo under that banner, because they remain, despite all the attention lavished on them in recent years, two of the few wine regions in the world from which a $40-$50 bottle of wine will age gracefully for 10-20 years.
Castello di Neive’s 2010 Barbaresco “Santo Stefano Albesani” isn’t a unicorn—it’s a world-class red wine collectible hiding in plain sight, overlooked by label slaves and therefore, like any number of historic, traditionalist Piedmontese producers with impeccable pedigrees, undervalued. We should just drop the mic right there. But perhaps you’d like to learn a little more about this gorgeously perfumed, firmly structured, downright electric expression of Nebbiolo from one of Barbaresco’s most legendary single vineyards.
Neive is one of the three principal villages of the Barbaresco DOCG (the others being Barbaresco itself and Treiso), and Santo Stefano is arguably its most important single vineyard (if Italy had such rankings, it’d surely be classified ‘Grand Cru’). In 1964, the Stupino family acquired their namesake castle in the heart of what’s called Neive Alta (upper Neive), the old, fortified, hilltop part of a commune that has since expanded to include a lower-lying surrounding area as well. Among the several parcels of land that came with the castle was Santo Stefano, which at that time lay mostly fallow; the Stupinos developed the site into the world-famous cru it is today, all the while continuing to sell grapes to the legendary Bruno Giacosa for his bottling from the site (that wine, Giacosa’s flagship, is one of the most sought-after collectibles in the Italian wine market, fetching prices that sometimes exceed those of Grand Cru Burgundies). Initially, the Stupinos just farmed the vineyard, not releasing their first Castello di Neive wine from the site until 1971 (Giacosa’s first was 1964).
Santo Stefano is technically part of a larger vineyard called Albesani (thus the shout-out on the label here). It is a centrally located slice with a perfect full-south exposure and the classic limestone/clay soils of the zone. The Stupinos have a predominance of old vines here, with most having been planted in the 1960s and early ‘70s, and their winemaking style is resolutely traditional—apart, perhaps, from employing a relatively short maceration on the skins (12 days) during the initial fermentation. Only large, used, 35-hectoliter barrels are used for aging; this wine saw two years’ aging in those barrels along with another year in bottle before release.
In our experience, Castello di Neive Barbarescos have always been true to the classic characterization of Barbaresco as the “queen” to Barolo’s “king”: theirs are very high-toned, spicy, more feminine takes on the often-burly Nebbiolo grape. They lead with their nose, so to speak—bright and floral wines with brisk acidity and tactile tannins than can occasionally be austere in their youth. But if there’s ever an occasion where the Nebbiolo-Pinot Noir comparison seems apt, this is one of them: other than the cultural similarities, I don’t always see the kinship between Barbaresco/Barolo and Burgundy. Here I definitely do—this is Nebbiolo at its prettiest and most perfumed.
Now with a touch of bottle age under its belt, the 2010 Santo Stefano Albesani is a medium garnet red with hints of orange at the rim, and if you went by appearance alone, you’d think it was going to be a lightweight. Then you put your nose in the glass and meet an all-out aromatic assault: dried cherry; blood orange peel; black raspberry; licorice; dried porcinis; violets; rose petals; warm spice; leather. On the palate it is as frisky as a Jack Russel terrier, pulsating with appetite-whetting acidity as a wave of red cherry and tea-leaf flavors glide across the palate and into a long, floral finish. This is classically structured Barbaresco, and it’s as much about acidity as tannin—the tannins are present, for sure, but not ferocious; more than anything it’s the acidity in this wine that’ll give it a long life. I have no doubt that it’ll go 10-20 more years with ease. If consuming now, give it a rough decanting at least one hour before serving in your most aroma-enhancing Burgundy bowls. Ideal service temperature is 60-65 degrees, and food is an absolute must at this point in the wine’s evolution. Give its brisk acids something to work with by braising some
beef cheeks in red wine (not this wine!), but do yourself a favor and set a few bottles aside in your cellar. It is going to be magic a few years down the line.
