Sottimano Langhe Nebbiolo 2023

Here's a terrific wine to serve at informal dinners, like a meal served outdoors under patio lights on a warm summer night. The Sottimano 2019 Langhe Nebbiolo delivers chiseled and focused aromas with a leading mineral component of crushed limestone or calcium, backed by delicate forest berry, tar and fresh licorice root. Don't underestimate the wine's simplicity. It comes off as slender and streamlined, but those fluid aromas grow and shift with time in the glass.

The 2023 Langhe Nebbiolo, all from Basarin, is precise and finely cut. Crushed flowers, mint, spice, crushed rocks, rose petals and a kiss of blood orange all run through this translucent, wonderfully expressive Langhe Nebbiolo. This is a Barbaresco in all but name. Only its earlier release precludes its release with that appellation.