Barbaresco, Rabaja Bas, 2019

The 2019 Rabaja Bas opens with a brisk, cool expression of blue fruits with dark cherries, red cherries and wet stones. Vibrant and alert, it moves to a firm, fresh, pixelated finish. “2019 is a very good vintage with great concentration so I allowed for a longer barrel aging of 22 months.” The healthy skins and intact fruit allowed Mario to keep the wine on its skins for the full 60 days. Rabaja Bas is a single vineyard MGA in its own right that has nothing to do with the more renowned Rabaja. An old vineyard planted in 1942, Rabaja Bas is west facing, (as opposed to southwest facing for Rabaja) and sits at the top of the hill above Paje. The soils are poor and limestone influenced. Fermented in steel tanks as opposed to open wooden vats for the other crus. Aged for 22 months in 25hl Slavonian oak casks.