Description
De Forville, Barbaresco “Loreto”
Like death and taxes, DeForville’s value proposition is a certainty. As we’ve asserted many times before, there are precious few red wines anywhere in the world that achieve what the masterful “Loreto” Barbaresco can at this price. There are flashier labels out there, but none with more credibility, or a more consistent track record of excellence, than DeForville.
Among sommeliers, the single-vineyard “Loreto” bottling is legendary—it’s a no-brainer placement on any wine list, even ones not solely focused on Italian wines, because it encapsulates everything that’s special about Barbaresco at a price that’s accessible to everyone. I’ve never seen it do anything but dazzle in the 20+ years I’ve been drinking and selling it, and what’s most fascinating of all is its relative scarcity: Only about 350 cases of the Loreto bottling make it to the US each year, but its popularity among sommeliers and retailers gives it relatively high visibility. It’s limited, it’ll age for decades, and it still comes in under $50. “Incredible” sums it up perfectly.
The last time we offered a De Forville Barbaresco (and we’ve offered many), I nicknamed them the “Iron Horse of Barbaresco” because of the consistency and longevity their wines have shown over the years. The family began producing wine in the mid-1800s, when Gioachino De Forville made Nebbiolo the family’s focus early on. He was succeeded by his son, Vincenzo, who was followed by his nephew, Paolo, who passed the torch to his daughter, Mafalda, who was followed by her sons and current proprietors, Valter and Paolo Anfosso. It’s a long and distinguished lineage, one that endured two World Wars and countless other challenges during its 150-year evolution. This multi-generation commitment to grueling manual labor, tradition, and excellence is how remote hillsides become the world’s greatest wine terroirs. In the last decade, De Forville has grown somewhat, but its proportions remain characteristically modest, with about 11 hectares of vines in two different villages.
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Today’s single-vineyard bottling was long known as “Vigneto Loreto,” but its label these days says just “Loreto”—but regardless, the name refers to De Forville’s piece of the famed Barbaresco cru, Ovello, a 20-hectare site and the northern-most vineyard in the village of Barbaresco. It’s a south-facing parcel, angling both to the southeast and southwest, with the calcareous marl soils typical of the region—although it is said to have a relatively high percentage of clay, which lends intensity to the wines bottled from it. Loreto has a southwestern exposure, and De Forville’s vines on the site exceed 35 years of age, which is readily evident in the wine: It displays a dense, almost Barolo-level of structure, with the soaring, savory aromatics that so distinguish Barbaresco’s Nebbiolo grape.
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Fermented in stainless steel and aged two years in large, used, Slavonian oak botti, this is a look-it-up-in-the-dictionary rendition of “traditional” Barbaresco. The 2019 edition is taut and nervy right now, needing some time to unwind in a decanter (60 minutes+), but once it does, you’re in business: In the glass, it’s a bright garnet red with hints of brick at the rim, with perfumed aromas of dried cherry, redcurrant, blood orange peel, dried roses, leather, crushed rock, black tea, and pipe tobacco. There’s impeccable balance of all the ‘extremes’ Nebbiolo can throw at you; the acidity, alcohol, and tannin are all well-managed and well-integrated. Get yourself enough of a stash that you can dip in now and 5-10 years from now. There’s no better value investment out there!
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