2020 La Ca' Növa Barbaresco Montestefano, Piedmont

The 2020 Barbaresco Montestefano is incredibly shut down today, which I take as a huge positive for a year that yielded relatively open wines. Readers should be in no rush. The 2020 offers plenty of Montestefano earthiness and savoriness, with plenty of fruit that today is enrobed by formidable tannins. The 2020 is still coming together, but it has a ton to offer.

95 points vinous.com

La Ca' Növa Barbaresco Montestefano is a powerful, deeply structured expression of Nebbiolo from one of Barbaresco’s most storied and warmest crus. Sitting just west of the village itself, Montestefano is known for its compact marl-rich soils and south-facing slope, producing wines with a darker fruit profile, fuller body and more robust tannic structure than many other Barbaresco sites. In the hands of La Ca’ Növa, this cru becomes a textbook example of strength matched with poise — a wine built to last but already layered with complexity.

The fruit is fermented slowly with indigenous yeasts, then aged for two years in large Slavonian oak casks. No new oak is used, and the wine is bottled without fining or filtration. This low-intervention approach allows Montestefano’s full character to shine: dense, brooding, yet finely detailed and lifted by high-toned aromatics.

Expect aromas of black cherry, dried violets, rosehip, sweet tobacco, iron and tar. On the palate, the wine is full and firmly structured, with rich red and black fruit, savoury spice, and a core of muscular but well-integrated tannins. There’s weight and length here, and a mineral backbone that gives it incredible tension despite its power.

Food pairing: ideal with slow-braised beef short ribs, wild boar ragù, aged pecorino, or roasted duck with porcini and chestnuts. Also excellent with polenta and game or hearty risotto with truffle and Parmigiano.

Cellar potential: best from 2028 onwards, with 20 to 30 years of ageing potential. This wine is built for the long haul, evolving into something haunting and deeply complex with time.