Giuseppe Cortese
Barbaresco DOCG
Barbaresco
2019

The producer

It is rare to find a family-run estate that so clearly embodies the character of a single great site, but Giuseppe Cortese has long been one of the most faithful interpreters of Barbaresco’s Rabajà cru. Founded in the late 19th century and still firmly family-owned, the estate has built its reputation on an unwavering focus on quality, traditional values, and an intimate understanding of its vineyards.

The heart of the domaine is its holdings in Rabajà, one of Barbaresco’s most celebrated crus, where south- and south-west-facing slopes, calcareous clay soils, and optimal elevations combine to produce wines of depth, structure, and longevity. Production is deliberately small and centred on Barbaresco, complemented by Langhe Nebbiolo and Barbera d’Alba, all made with a restrained, classical approach that favours clarity of site over winemaking artifice. The result is a range that consistently delivers authenticity, age-worthiness, and exceptional value, with the Rabajà Barbaresco standing among the benchmark expressions of the appellation.

The wine

Fruit for Giuseppe Cortese’s Barbaresco DOCG is sourced from the estate’s vineyards in and around the village of Barbaresco, including parcels from the renowned Rabajà area. These sites sit on predominantly south to south-west facing slopes, with vines planted on calcareous clay and limestone soils that are typical of the appellation and well suited to Nebbiolo. Fermentation is carried out in stainless steel tanks, followed by extended ageing in large Slavonian oak casks, allowing the wine to develop complexity while preserving clarity of fruit, before further bottle ageing.

The resulting wine shows a refined expression of Barbaresco, combining lifted floral notes and red cherry fruit with a gentle savoury and mineral undertone. Fine, well-knit tannins provide structure without heaviness, giving a medium-bodied, poised profile marked by balance, fragrance, and a quietly persistent finish.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.