Cascina Luisin Barbaresco 'Rabaja' 2019

The fabled Rabajà cru in Barbaresco, within which the Luisin winery itself is situated, borders Asili to the southwest, but the differences in character between the two are striking: Rabajà is brooding and earthy where Asili is bright and mineral, and Rabajà is arguably the more complex and long-lasting of the two, even if Asili can be more accessible (particularly in youth). The 45-year-old vines here produce a layered, chiseled wine of assertive power, yet possessed of a non-pandering elegance which is very much a Luisin hallmark.