Decanter Brook’s 10 Top Barbaresco&Barolo producers
Stephen Brook gives a personal view of the charms and complexities of Piedmont’s terroirs and wines, both traditional and more modern in style, and recommends two great wines from each of his 10 favorite producers. Giorgio Pelissero Pelissero is an unashamed modernist, eager to use, though judiciously, barriques for his opulent reds. He’s a showman, entertaining visitors at his new cellars in Treiso, but works hard too, regularly attending global wine fairs to promote his wines and recoup the considerable investments he has made. Even though his top Barbaresco, Vanotu, is aged entirely in new barriques, he is no devotee of new oak for its own sake. Other Barbarescos, such as the blend called Nubiola and the splendid Tulin from rocky soils, are aged in a mix of casks and barriques. There’s no shortage of outstanding winemakers in Barbaresco, but I just happen to like Pelissero: impish, confident but questioning; international in outlook, yet rooted in Treiso. And the wines are designed to give pleasure, and hardly ever disappoint. Vanotu, Barbaresco 2001: 93 Tulin, Barbaresco 2010: 93