Bruna 2023 Riviera Ligure di Ponente U Baccan Pigato

U Baccan – the Boss, in local dialect. This is made from a rigorous selection of fruit from the oldest vines – at least 70 years old, but many much older, and from vines on both types of soils – the blue and red clays. Yield per plant is very low. The winemaker, Francesca, says the wine ages very well, and that when they tasted the 1999 (the first vintage of U Baccan) around 2010, that it was showing beautifully. The grape are soft-pressed, the must is allowed to settle, and then fermentation is allowed to begin in stainless steel.  Once fermentation gets underway, the wine is racked to large cask, where it continues its fermenting. Aged in Austrian acacia casks and French oak casks for at least ten months on the lees with batonnage. Bottle aged an additional 8 months, so it is released a year later than the Majè and Le Russeghine Pigatos. 

The current vintage, 2023, is stunning. The nose is the most stoney and deep out of the Pigato lineup. River rocks, salt, lime curd, stonefruit skins, grapefruit skins, jasmine, marzipan and the most lovely creamy medium body from the lees aging. Let this wine brethe in a decanter and see how it evolves.

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