Pio Cesare Il Bricco Barbaresco 2011 was the grand finale of our "Taming of the Italian Wine" tasting event. All wine for the occasion came from Piedmont. We started with some less recognized wines and varietals, but we wanted to finish with a jewel of Piedmont - 100% Nebbiolo wine.
Il Bricco 2011 - top of the line Barbaresco from Pio Cesare. It was a perfect wine to wrap up the tasting. Barbaresco considered as a more feminine style of wine with softer tannins, delicate fruit and elegant perfume. We thought it was a more approachable option for some of our guests who are only at the beginning of their wine appreciation journey and might be overwhelmed by Barolo.
History
Il Bricco came from the winery with over a hundred years of winemaking history. It was started by Pio Cesare in 1911 and now his great-grandson Pio Boffa continues the tradition and runs the winery.
Grapes for this wine Sourced from three different plots from the family's Vineyard Cascina Il Bricco, located in the village of Treiso. Fruit tends to ripen earlier at these sites, and two distinct soil types contribute to aromas, structure, and tannins in the wine. All these factors add complexity to Il Bricco and make it more approachable at a younger age than Barolo.
Winemaker uses only very ripe grapes for Il Brico. Fruit is hand harvested and carefully sorted at the winery to make sure only best goes into the fermenters. After sorting grapes are crushed and macerated on the skins for 25 days in stainless steel tanks. Then the wine is aged for 30 months in oak "botte" with a small amount aged in French barriques for the first 18 months.
Serving
We looked forward to our grand finale wine for a couple of weeks, and it was worth the wait. As we pulled the long cork and sensed the first aromas as the wine flowed into the decanter, we knew that we're in for a treat. We decanted the wine for about an hour, and it can definitely benefit if you let it open up for another hour.
It was interesting to observe the reaction of our guest to Il Bricco. We had a diverse group with various levels of wine appreciation experience, and the response was pretty much "black and white." Our friends either liked it or not.
Tasting Notes
There is so much going on in this wine that we can write a book.
On the nose, we sensed the sophisticated perfume of rose petals, violets, tobacco, and ripe strawberries just to mention a few.
On the palate, Il Bricco delivers a soft and luscious interpretation of Nebbiolo. The ripe red fruit of cherries and strawberries led the way and complemented by the delicate spiciness of pink peppercorns and notes of tobacco. Tannins are still young but not overpowering and balanced by refreshing acidity.
When to Drink
You can drink this wine now, and it will get better in a decade or two. It's a great bottle to celebrate something in 2030 or 2040.
Want a ride on a time machine? Get two or three bottles of 2011 Barbaresco Il Bricco and save a video of yourself tasting this wine today. Then pick the occasion in ten or twenty years from now and re-record yourself. Watch both videos and enjoy your "time machine" ride!