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Giuseppe Cortese Barbaresco Rabaja 2020 750ml

size
750ml
country
Italy
region
Piedmont
appellation
Barbaresco
WNR
97
DC
95
VM
95
JS
94
WA
93
WS
93
JD
93
Additional vintages
WNR
97
Rated 97 by Winery
Rated 97 - Made from fifty-year old vines, the compelling Giuseppe Cortese 2020 Rabajà is one of the best wines of the vintage. It opens with perfumed berry, fragrant purple flower and vineyard dust. It’s absolutely delicious, delivering Jolly Rancher cherry, strawberry compote and baking spice flavors before an almost salty mineral finish. It’s structured and full-bodied, with tightly knit tannins while fresh acidity keeps it balanced. Drink 2026–2039. - Kerin O’Keefe ... More details
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Giuseppe Cortese Barbaresco Rabaja 2020 750ml

SKU 937315
Sale
Qualifies for 12 Ship Free
Choose 12 bottles, get free shipping
$56.80
/750ml bottle
$53.84
/750ml bottle
Quantity
* This item is available for online ordering only. It can be picked up or shipped from our location within 4-6 business days. ?
Professional Ratings
WNR
97
DC
95
VM
95
JS
94
WA
93
WS
93
JD
93
WNR
97
Rated 97 by Winery
Rated 97 - Made from fifty-year old vines, the compelling Giuseppe Cortese 2020 Rabajà is one of the best wines of the vintage. It opens with perfumed berry, fragrant purple flower and vineyard dust. It’s absolutely delicious, delivering Jolly Rancher cherry, strawberry compote and baking spice flavors before an almost salty mineral finish. It’s structured and full-bodied, with tightly knit tannins while fresh acidity keeps it balanced. Drink 2026–2039. - Kerin O’Keefe
DC
95
Rated 95 by Decanter
Dense ruby in the glass, with precise definition of liquorice root, very restrained redcurrant and pomegranate. Parma violet supplies graceful florality. The attack is firm, as expected from a Rabajà, with very refined and integrated acidity. Leafy lightness in style and almost tart fruit flavours, but tannins of great quality. There is a lot of extraction but not too much and great character overall. Fermented in concrete and aged in large Slavonian oak vessels for 24 months. There is great potential for the long haul as is often demonstrated by the estate.
VM
95
Rated 95 by Vinous Media
The 2020 Barbaresco Rabaja is a total knock-out. Dark, layered and mysterious, the 2020 is pure seduction. All the elements are so well put together for a young Barbaresco. In 2020 Cortese did not bottle a Riserva, and the addition of that fruit clearly benefits this bottling. Black cherry, kirsch, lavender, spice and dried herbs all build in a super-classic Rabaja that delivers the goods. Don't miss it.
JS
94
Rated 94 by James Suckling
Notes of raspberries, blood orange, ground spices and tree bark. Medium-bodied with juicy acidity, polished tannins and vivid red fruit character. Savory and pure with a supple finish and spiced citrus peel undertones to it. Better from 2025.
WA
93
Rated 93 by Wine Advocate
With earthy notes and some rusty tones, the 2020 Barbaresco Rabajà shows generous fruit flavors from a warm growing season. The wine is open and immediate, requiring not much in terms of waiting time. In fact, it is showing very nicely at this young age with cherry, earth and rose-like aromas to close. Production is 17,000 bottles.
WS
93
Rated 93 by Wine Spectator
A bright, cherry-flavored red augmented by earth, licorice, tar and mineral notes. Firm, yet well-balanced, with a lingering, focused finish. Shows fine length, which indicates its potential. Best from 2026 through 2042.
JD
93
Rated 93 by Jeb Dunnuck
Set for a September release, the 2020 Barbaresco Rabaja' has a jeweled, transparent appearance and reveals a lovely floral, rosy perfume of ripe wild strawberry, anise, and fresh herbs. It is elegant and has good concentration, with graceful, fine tannins and notes of wild raspberry, peach, and orange peel. It is clean and has a mouthwatering freshness of acidity. Drink 2024-2036.
Product Details
size
750ml
country
Italy
region
Piedmont
appellation
Barbaresco
Additional vintages
Overview
Rated 97 - Made from fifty-year old vines, the compelling Giuseppe Cortese 2020 Rabajà is one of the best wines of the vintage. It opens with perfumed berry, fragrant purple flower and vineyard dust. It’s absolutely delicious, delivering Jolly Rancher cherry, strawberry compote and baking spice flavors before an almost salty mineral finish. It’s structured and full-bodied, with tightly knit tannins while fresh acidity keeps it balanced. Drink 2026–2039. - Kerin O’Keefe
green grapes

Varietal: Nebbiolo

The dusty purple grapes of the Nebbiolo variety are widely considered to be amongst the finest in the world, and hold many unique characteristics which have secured their place in wine making history. Indeed, almost all of the most respected and sought after red wines of Italy are made using this grape varietal, and it wasn't long before several New World wineries started experimenting with the fruit of this special vine, too. Nebbiolo grapes are renowned for their ability to age beautifully, with their strong and dense tannins mellowing out and becoming more balanced inside the oak. Alongside this, they hold some of the most complex and exciting flavors to be found in any grape, which range from gorgeous notes of black truffle, to aromatic violets and tobacco tones.
barrel

Region: Piedmont

For hundreds of years, the beautiful alpine region of Piedmont in north-west Italy has been producing excellent quality red wines, and some of the most characterful sparkling white wines to have ever come out of the Old World. The region is dominated by the mighty Alps which form the border between Italy, France and Switzerland, and the Moscato grapes that are grown in the foothills of this mountain range carry much of the Alps' flavors in their fruit, and are fed by crystal clear mountain waters. However, it is the Nebbiolo, Dolcetto and Barbera grapes which are the real stars of this region, and the highly respected wineries which cover much of Piedmont have generations of experience when it comes to processing and aging these grape varietals to produce the superb wines which come out of appellations such as Barolo and Barberesco.
fields

Country: Italy

For several decades in the mid to late twentieth century, Italy's reputation for quality wines took a fairly serious blow. This was brought about partly due to lack of regulation in certain regions, and too much regulation in others. This led to several wineries in the beautiful and highly fertile region of Tuscany making the bold move to work outside of the law, which they saw as responsible for the drop in quality in Tuscan wines. They believed that they had the expertise and the generations of experience necessary with which to make truly excellent, world class wines, and set about doing just that. These 'Super Tuscans', as they came to be known, quickly inspired the rest of Italy to improve their produce, and now, Italian wine producers in the twenty-first century are widely recognised to be amongst the best in the world. Regulation and law began to change, and wine drinkers across the globe woke up to the outstanding wines coming out of Italy, which are continuing to improve and impress to this day.
Customer Reviews
Customer Reviews

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More Details
green grapes

Varietal: Nebbiolo

The dusty purple grapes of the Nebbiolo variety are widely considered to be amongst the finest in the world, and hold many unique characteristics which have secured their place in wine making history. Indeed, almost all of the most respected and sought after red wines of Italy are made using this grape varietal, and it wasn't long before several New World wineries started experimenting with the fruit of this special vine, too. Nebbiolo grapes are renowned for their ability to age beautifully, with their strong and dense tannins mellowing out and becoming more balanced inside the oak. Alongside this, they hold some of the most complex and exciting flavors to be found in any grape, which range from gorgeous notes of black truffle, to aromatic violets and tobacco tones.
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Region: Piedmont

For hundreds of years, the beautiful alpine region of Piedmont in north-west Italy has been producing excellent quality red wines, and some of the most characterful sparkling white wines to have ever come out of the Old World. The region is dominated by the mighty Alps which form the border between Italy, France and Switzerland, and the Moscato grapes that are grown in the foothills of this mountain range carry much of the Alps' flavors in their fruit, and are fed by crystal clear mountain waters. However, it is the Nebbiolo, Dolcetto and Barbera grapes which are the real stars of this region, and the highly respected wineries which cover much of Piedmont have generations of experience when it comes to processing and aging these grape varietals to produce the superb wines which come out of appellations such as Barolo and Barberesco.
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Country: Italy

For several decades in the mid to late twentieth century, Italy's reputation for quality wines took a fairly serious blow. This was brought about partly due to lack of regulation in certain regions, and too much regulation in others. This led to several wineries in the beautiful and highly fertile region of Tuscany making the bold move to work outside of the law, which they saw as responsible for the drop in quality in Tuscan wines. They believed that they had the expertise and the generations of experience necessary with which to make truly excellent, world class wines, and set about doing just that. These 'Super Tuscans', as they came to be known, quickly inspired the rest of Italy to improve their produce, and now, Italian wine producers in the twenty-first century are widely recognised to be amongst the best in the world. Regulation and law began to change, and wine drinkers across the globe woke up to the outstanding wines coming out of Italy, which are continuing to improve and impress to this day.