After 30 years of importing the wines of Cantine Elvio Tintero—first from Elvio himself, and now from son Marco—it’s fair to say that year in and year out, this family’s wines are unfaltering, even predictable, in the very best sense of the term: delicious, value-driven, and splendidly expressive of the patience, precision, and soul that go into their making. Tintero’s winery is nestled in the small commune of Mango, deep in Moscato country where fresh, fizzy bianco is the cantina’s claim to fame, but over the past decade or so, Marco has been crafting luminous expressions of his Piemontese terroir in every color. He’s hit his stride producing compelling reds that blur the line between “drink now” and “hold”—glorious in their spicy, forest fruit-laden youth, but with a bit of restraint, revealing layers of nuance and finesse that only time can draw out.
     Produced in small batches, Tintero’s Barbaresco spends one year in large botti before Marco bottles it unfiltered and unfined to preserve all the characterful bits that make it so lively. Given time to evolve in bottle—like the six years this 2017 spent resting in Marco’s cellar—the result is a floral, dark-fruited rosso with baked-earth undertones and fuzzy tannin. I’ve swooned when pairing this punchy Nebbiolo alongside beef ravioli in red sauce, though I recently learned Marco drinks his with risotto. Not one to miss a gastronomical opportunity, I decided to prepare Chef Chris Lee’s recipe for risotto with radicchio & pancetta and pop open a bottle. The combination was salty, savory, peppery perfection—a meal so simple and satisfying it effortlessly conjured a cozy, candlelit Piemontese trattoria.
     This small re-release of the 2017 has just arrived and it’s in a beautiful place; still young and toothsome, but showing new levels of complexity and more minerality beneath the fruit and spice.