2018 Giuseppe Cortese, Barbaresco, Rabaja 6x75cl

“It is admittedly rather lazy to state that I have a favourite vineyard in any wine region that I prize above all others. Still, in Barbaresco, in the heart of Piemonte, it is Rabajà. There I have done it. There are loads of superbly smart plots of Nebbiolo in this heavenly, hilly wine region, and I am confident that every Barbaresco lover will have their private desert island paddock of vines. But given that I have blurted this out and that Cortese is one of my favourite winemakers in the region, it seems rather extraordinary that his glorious 2018 vintage, which is starting to drink deliciously already, slips in under the magical fifty-quid barrier. Pure, long, classy, toothsome, invigorating and drenched in wild cherry and plum fruit, this is a siren song to the glorious Nebbiolo grape, and you must get in quick to secure your six-pack.” Matthew Jukes, matthewjukes.com