Latest Releases from Paitin including the 2021 Barbarescos!

In the past I’ve waxed poetically about this winery, which in my view is one of the leading, rising stars in Barbaresco. For this feature I’ll spare you the verbiage and focus on the wines, with a few important reminders:

  • This is a family-owned winery and one of the very first in Barbaresco dating back to 1893, when Sori Paitin became one of the traditional expressions of Nebbiolo. Today it is owned and managed by the Pasquero Elia Brothers – Giovanni and Silvano – along with Giovanni’s son Luca.  
  • The wines are grown with organic techniques, the only exception being the occasional use of sulfur and copper compounds in the vineyards to protect the fruit from mold and mildew. These are only used on an as-needed basis.
  • Grapes are hand harvested, mostly destemmed and gently pressed with kid-glove care.
  • Once a modernist producer, since 2010 their winemaking style is 100% traditional, using time honored methods and aging in neutral, oak casks of Slavonian origin.
  • For my palate, they are producing some of the finest values in Barbaresco!    

2022 Paitin, Roero Arneis DOP, Elisa (RT91+) This is the second time I’ve reviewed this pale platinum wine. With its sweet bouquet of golden delicious apples, lemon pith, honeysuckle and apple blossom, a hint of terroir emerges on the finish. Packed with scrumptious, ripe fruit and bright acidity, this is a wonderful warm weather wine to share with family and friends, or hell, quaff it yourself. Irresistibly tasty, if you’re a fan of Arneis this is one to have in the fridge during those warm spells, locked and loaded and ready to pull out and serve up! Drink now-2027 Tasted August 2024  

Crafted in stainless steel aged, 100% Arneis from the legendary Roero appellation, the vineyard is mostly older vines planted in 1980. Grapes are organically grown, with the exception of the modest use of sulfur and copper natural compounds, if needed, and hand harvested. The grapes are grown in sandy soils, after a short fermentation and maceration are aged for 6 months on lees.  This is a premium value, must buy white that anyone looking to spend in the $20 range should check out!

2022 Paitin, Langhe Freisa DOP, Bonina (RT89) I routinely prefer Freisa with a slight chill, which I feel is the best, freshest way to serve it. With its light purplish, fuchsia-tinged hue, the Bonina melds its fruit and floral aspects as notes of blackberry liqueur, Damson plum, hints of blue fruit, lilacs and lavender all make an appearance, closing with a hint of spice. The palate is fresh, bright and lively with fresh fruit and crisp acidity that brings it to a close. This is a “drink it while its young” bottling, so no need to lay it down. Drink now-2027 Tasted August 2024    

Crafted from 100% Freisa grown is the Bonina di Alba region. These vines were planted in 1980 and are farmed using organic practices grown, with the exception of the modest use of sulfur and copper natural compounds, if needed, and finally hand harvested and then destemmed. It is then fermented and macerated in stainless and finally aged for 6 months in large, Slavonian casks of 10 years of age. This vineyard site is marly limestone.   

2022 Paitin, Barbera d’Alba DOP, Serra (RT90) Ruby red with purplish highlights, this is a freshly styled Barbera that is both lively and vibrant and is intended to be consumed in its youth. Notes of small berry wild cherry, raspberry, new leather, fresh herbs and a whiff of terroir-driven minerality dominate the bouquet while the palate is soft, supple and showing balanced fruit, mouth watering acidity and soft, barely perceptible tannins. This is a tasty food wine, perfect for paring with hearty red sauce pasta dishes, cheese pizza and other fatty dishes. Drink now-2028(+?) Tasted August 2024

Grown on the east-facing slopes of the Serraboella vineyard, this 100% Barbera is a lovely, food friendly wine available at a pocketbook-friendly price. The vineyard was planted in 1980. Like the other wines of Paitin, this is farmed using organic practices grown, with the exception of the modest use of sulfur and copper natural compounds, if needed, and finally hand harvested. It is aged for one year in traditional, neutral Slavonian botti ranging from 10-25 HL that are 15 years of age.   

2021 Paitin, Barbera d’Alba Superiore DOP, Campolive (RT93) This wonderfully balanced wine shows a translucent, ruby hue with a pale rim. It wafts-up a gorgeous, spicy bouquet of brooding dark cherry, ripe plum, leather, charcuterie and dark puffs of smoke. It is captivating, bringing you back for whiff after whiff. The palate creates an enticing textural experience with ripe succulent fruit and divine acidity makes it food friendly. The tannins are soft yet add enough structure to make this a mid-term cellar-worthy wine. Drink 2025-2032+ Tasted August 2024

Crafted from old-vine Barbera planted in 1970, that grows on the east side of Serraboella ridge, in highly white, sandy soils. What sets this wine apart from the Serra in the older wines, and stricter, lower grape yields. It is organically produced in a practical sense, using only modest amounts of sulfur and copper in the vineyards and only when needed, and finally hand harvested and destemmed. The grapes are fermented and macerated for two weeks in stainless steel, then aged for one year in traditional, neutral Slavonian botti ranging from 10-25 HL that are 15 years of age where it rests for a minimum 1 year, often longer.

2022 Paitin, Nebbiolo Langhe DOP, Starda (RT91) Light-to-pale in color, highly translucent and brick hued. The ever-maturing vines in this vineyard, which is outside of Barbaresco, are producing an increasingly impressive level of quality for a value priced Nebbiolo Langhe, which I find a pleasant surprise, especially from this challenging vintage. This is a seriously fine value bottling, one that should exceed the needs of price conscious shoppers. Fresh and bright aromatics built on a frame of strawberry, red raspberry, sweet herbs, aromatic cedar and a pinch of spice dominate. The palate is bright and packed with accessible fruit, kept interesting by glowing acidity and suave tannins. This is a really lovely effort shaped by the expert winemaking Silvano Pasquero Elia. Drink now-2028 Tasted August 2024

The name Starda was first used in 2013, and this wine has been a rising star since. I remember the first vintage well, which received a number of years of barrel aging, making it lend the impression it had been cellared for many years. Today this is quite the opposite and is packed with vibrantly fresh fruit! Starda is 100% Nebbiolo, a blend of fruit from young vines in Serraboella, and from outside Barbaresco in their estate property of Ca Veja near Alba. Like their other Nebbiolo’s, this wine is hand harvested and destemmed, then fermented and macerated between 3 to 6 weeks in stainless steel. It is then aged in Slavonian casks for 6 months to 1 year.

2021 Paitin, Nebbiolo d’Alba DOP, Ca Veja (RT93) A shade more deeply garnet hued than the 2022 Starda, the bouquet is also more profoundly nuanced showing dark Marasca cherry, mentholated plum compote, sappy balsam, lavender, rose petals and mineral notes. This presents a more serious, handsomely nuance Nebbiolo Langhe, which holds broad attraction. The palate is rich and full bodied with beautiful fresh red fruit that coats the palate, the acids and deep, powerful and full value, the tannins sweet and ripe. A wonderful vintage for Ca Vja! Drink 2025-2034 Tasted August 2024     

Ca Veja is named after a small hamlet in the Rivoli region of South Alba and here a combination of older vines in soils different than those where Starda is grown, along with ageing for 18 months creates a wine of enormous character. The grapes are hand harvested, then fermented and macerated for two weeks in stainless steel, then aged for one year in traditional, neutral Slavonian botti ranging from 10-25 HL that are 15 years of age where it rests for 1 1/2 years. This is a perfect wine for short-to-midterm cellaring, give it a little time to come together and demonstrate its true potential, you’ll be glad you did!  

The recently bottled and released 2021 Barbaresco’s reviewed in this feature are tightly wound and need plenty of O2 (aka breathing time) to unwind, open-up and to express themselves to their fullest potential. I suggest a day of Slow O (just pull the cork and let the bottle breath with no decanting) then serve directly from bottle, or, if you’re going to enjoy the entire bottle in one sitting decant it immediately prior to serving and allow it to unwind in your stem. This recommendation is based on opening one in the near term – the next few years. Will they eventually shut down as is so often the case, on to later re-emerge? Only time will tell, but you can deal with that when the time arrives and adjust your oxygenation approach accordingly.   

2021 Paitin, Barbaresco DOCG, Serraboella (RT94) The pale garnet tinged 2021 Serraboella reveals candied Marasca cherries, ripe cranberry, soaring balsam, aromatic cedar, spiciness and crushed rock dust shows up. The palate is beautifully succulent layered with ripe fruit, mouth watering acidity and perfectly ripe tannins. As the vines for this wine have continued to become more mature the quality of the wine continues to be on the rise and this is a superb vintage, perhaps the finest of this bottling that I’ve tasted. Showing its old world roots with a mere 13.5% alcohol. Drink 2027-2041 Tasted July 2024  

Sourced from young vines grown on the east-facing side of the Serraboella ridge, 2021 was a large production vintage with 14,120 bottles produced. The winemaking here embraces pure, traditional vinification techniques with some modern, enlightened twists folded in. Like the other Cru Barbarescos, this wine employs a submerged cap fermentation – aka cappello sommerso in Piedmontese dialect – followed by a 40-45 day maceration. It is aged 18 months in untoasted Slavonian casks of Garbellottian origin from Croatia and some Stockinger and Schon Austian casks prior to bottling. The Austrian casks are sourced from a different section of the Slavonian Forest, which is in Hungary. This bottling is very well priced and on par qualitatively with Produttori’s Classico Barbaresco (aka Torre), if not a bit ahead of Torre for my palate. I would put it up any day of the week against that wine, one which is produced at a monstrous scale (250,000+ bottles/vintage) and lacks the attention to detail found here. 

2021 Paitin, Barbaresco DOCG, Sori Paitin (RT96+) Deeply nuanced with dark cherry, Ariel plum, slightly damp sous bois, anise liqueur, umami, brown tobacco and wild, spiced herbs, the 2021 Sori Paitin is one of the finest vintages I’ve ever tasted of this wine, and my history with Paitin and this bottling goes back into the 1980s. It is both masculine and feminine simultaneously, balancing power with a sophisticated, ladylike stature, showing deep, perfectly ripe fruit perfectly balanced with fresh acidity that keeps you returning to the glass for another visit to your lips. The suave, supplely ripe tannins bring a smile to your face if you’re a lover of structured reds, the finish long and enduring. This is an impressive bottling. 14% alcohol. Drink 2029-2050+ Tasted July 2024    

Sori Paitin, Paitin’s flagship bottling for many decades, is aged a bit long than their other Barbaresco’s at 22 months in untoasted Slavonian casks of Garbellottian origin from Croatia and some Stockinger and Schon Austian casks. The Austrian casks are sourced from a different section of the Slavonian Forest, which is in Hungary. The production of Sori Paitin is down just a smidge to 11,061 bottles from the 2020 vintage, but the quality is even more impressive. This wine sets a high bar in the world of Barbaresco, a result of the unique soils of the vineyard site which is on the west and southwest facing slopes of the Serraboella vineyard. Here the light hued soils produce impressive Nebbiolo grapes built with a firm, enduring structure. For my palate this is a go-to Barbaresco and should not be missed. Cellar this beauty in quantity and you will be handsomely rewarded!   

2019 Paitin, Barbaresco Riserva DOCG, Sori Paitin, Vecchie Vigne (RT97+) The 2019 Riserva Vecchie Vigne shows mind-blowing character, loaded with power and focus, what a stunning vintage for this wine. Crafted by Pasquero-Elio brother Silvano, Paitin’s head winemaker, his focus on the desired results and lofty goals was more than achieved. Darker in hue than the 2021 Barbaresco Cru bottlings, it reveals deeply brooding black cherry, tiny ripe wild blueberries, Christmas spice, goudron, dried herbs, smoked balsam, dusty spices and a spine built on a frame of minerality. With time to open in the glass it becomes more complex, more giving, and reveals increasing depth. The palate texture is pure magic, with robust, yet elegant fruit, layered with waves of complexity. The acidity keeps it fresh and exciting, the suave structure buried behind a wall of fruit. This shows more of a Barolo Riserva persona than that of most Babaresco Riservas. What an impressive wine, with proper cellaring this may be destined for perfection. Do NOT miss this bottling! 14% alcohol. Drink 2029-2055+ Tasted July 2024  

Produced in miniscule quantities, a mere 2,666 bottles were made in 2019. This was bottle #2,581. For this vintage there were originally 2 casks made, but they decided just one was the standout, and used the second cask to blend into Sori Paitin, thus this vintage’s miniscule production. Like the other Barbarescos, this wine employs a submerged cap fermentation – aka cappello sommerso in Piedmontese dialect – which last 3 weeks, followed by a 40-45 day maceration. It is then aged for 30 months in untoasted Slavonian casks of Garbellottian origin from Croatia. The first vintage this wine was bottled was 1999, and I’ve followed its evolution since. I still have a few bottles of that vintage in my cellar and recently checked in on a magnum of the 2000 vintage, you can find the review here. In early vintages it was not labeled a Riserva but was aged to merit that label. That has recently changed. In my view this impressive bottling is one of the great secrets of Barbaresco and is crafted from vines planted by family father Secondo Pasquero-Elia on a plot in the Sori Paitin vineyard between 1948 and 1953. The focus and purity of the old vine fruit along with the winemaking sets a standard of excellence, do not miss this benchmark wine! 

2021 Paitin, Barbaresco DOCG, Albesani (RT95+) The 2021 Albesani is the inaugural release of this bottling, and what a way to smash it out of the park! Pale ruby garnet in hue, the stellar aromatic lift is amazing with notes of sweet wild cherry, spiced Damson plum, fresh lavender, sweet herbs, nettle and a wisp of minerality. The palate is stunning with its complete weightlessness, succulent ripe fruit and artfully integrated acidity. The tannins are nearly masked by the lavish fruit at its current age but will undoubtedly emerge with time in the bottle. This is a wine to lay down in the cellar, so don’t drink all your bottles in their first few years. 14% alcohol. Drink 2028-2050+ Tasted July 2024  

In 2021 the Albesani vineyard plots produced 3,021 bottles. Like the other Cru Barbarescos, this wine employs a submerged cap fermentation – aka cappello sommerso in Piedmontese dialect – which lasted for 3 weeks, followed by a 40-45 day maceration. It is then aged for 22 months in one untoasted Slavonian cask of Garbellottian origin from Croatia. Production of this bottling is miniscule and highly allocated, so I suggest you acquire it as soon after release as you can before availability dries up.   

2021 Paitin, Barbaresco DOCG, Faset (RT96) This gem shows deeper and is aromatically more full-figured than the Albesani and Basarin bottlings, with captivating notes of Bing cherry liqueur, red raspberry compote, ripe Mirabelle plum, mentholated rose water, aromatic cedar box, hints of cinnamon spice and a wisp of crunchy dry forest floor. This is stunningly attractive and focused with precision. The palate is equally precise with artfully dosed fruit, uplifting acidity and finishes with suave tannins. It delivers a classic, weightless mouth texture! Another magnificent vintage of Faset and one to lay down in the cellar. Like the young vines 2021 Serraboella Barbaresco, this too is 13.5% alcohol. Drink 2028-2050+ Tasted July 2024 

Similar production to the 2020 vintage with 3,026 bottles of Faset produced. Like the other Barbarescos, this wine employs a submerged cap fermentation – aka cappello sommerso in Piedmontese dialect – followed by a 40-45 day maceration. It is then aged for 18 months in one untoasted Slavonian cask of Garbellottian origin from Croatia. 2021 is the 3rdh vintage of this wine since Paitin first acquired this prized plot in the Cru Faset vineyard. Like the brand new release of Albesani, and the Basarin, the production here is small and highly allocated, so I suggest you acquire it as soon after release as you can before availability dries up.   

2021 Paitin, Barbaresco DOCG, Basarin (RT95) The 2021 Basarin is an amazing wine, and easily an equal to the other two recently acquired Cru site in terms of purity, focus and sheer quality. Like the others, this is pale ruby garnet and shows magnetic notes of sweet red cherry, red currants, hints of wild herbs, spicey balsam, and overall presents a savory, warm character. With time in the glass hints of smoked meats and crushed limestone emerge. The palate is vibrantly alive with generous fruit that takes on an elegant profile, light and fleetingly fresh. The acidity is equally alive and energized as ripe, sweet tannins provide a classic punctuation mark. 14% alcohol. Drink 2028-2050+ Tasted July 2024

Similar production to the 2020 vintage with 3,116 bottles of Basarin produced in 2021. Like the other Barbarescos, this wine employs a submerged cap fermentation – aka cappello sommerso in Piedmontese dialect – followed by a 40-45 day maceration. It is then aged for 18 months in one untoasted Slavonian cask of Garbellottian origin from Croatia. 2021 is the 4th vintage of this wine since Paitin first acquired this prized plot in the Cru Basarin vineyard. Like the brand new release of Albesani and Faset the production here is minuscule and highly allocated, so I suggest you acquire it as soon after release as you can before availability dries up.