2017 Lino Maga Barbacarlo

Place: Oltrepò Pavese - Lombardy, ITA

Varieties: Croatina, Uva Rara & Vespolina

Farming: Organic 

Few wines capture the spirit of the place and the people who make it more than Lino Maga’s Barbacarlo wines. The family have owned this 4ha vineyard for centuries and have been producing noteworthy wines here since 1886. Today the family tends to 50 years old vines on the steeply sloped site tucked away in the hills outside of a small town south of Milan.  

There are no chemicals used in the vineyard or the winery (except a bit of SO2 prior to bottling), no certifications and no website at Barbacarlo.  After a careful sorting of the harvested grapes, all wines are fermented with indigenous yeasts in ancient casks. Depending on the vintage, the wines may re-ferment in the bottle. This will provide a light spritz along with a touch of sweetness and spice to the finished wine. This makes each bottle and each vintage a unique experience. As Lino Maga questions: “Why put the vintage on the label if the wines always taste the same?”

Reflecting the warmer vintage, this is a fuller expression of Barbacarlo that will show impeccable ageing potential but like all Maga wines can be enjoyed young. Its in many ways a dream wine for lovers of Barbacarlo balancing a slight amount of residual sugar along with a superb core of dark fruit, herbs, firm tannins and lively spritz so often desired in Barbacarlo.