Manuel Marinacci - 2017 Barbaresco Rocche Massalupo

Beta Offer #16 of 16

Bottom Line Up Front - Manuel Marinacci’s 2017 Rocche Massalupo is a majestic red wine from one of Italy’s most treasured appellations, Barbaresco. The balance of fruit, tannins, and acidity suggest a wine that will age and improve for decades. But if you’re looking to flip the script on an otherwise slow Tuesday night, this Barbaresco is already a joy to drink.

My notes while tasting:  Brambly red fruits, leather, roses, explosive length, firm tannins, no overt oak, expressive. “Veramente Luminoso” (according to my wife Sarah).

(To order, just click the link above and follow the prompts, or scroll to the end of this message for step-by-step instructions.)

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Fellow wine geeks,

I first learned of Manuel Marinacci’s wines last year at Enoteca al Risanamento in Bologna. Risanamento is one of my favorite wine shops in Italy. The selections represent the “best of the best” producers in every Italian wine region. It’s wine geek heaven.

Over the course of three nights, I overheard Risanamento’s owner Francesco Barsotti praise Marinacci multiple times. The gist, according to Francesco: Manuel’s star is on the rise in Barbaresco. The wines are top-notch, and people are starting to catch on.

Intrigued, I tried the Marinacci 2014 Barbaresco. Sure enough, it was elegant, clean, energetic, and complex. An Open Tuesday offer started to form in my mind.

Two weeks ago, I visited Manuel at his home and winery near Alba. All of his wines were impressive, and I left convinced that we should collaborate with him as much as possible. In addition to the Barbaresco, I was blown away by Manuel’s Barbera and Dolcetto. Hopefully, we’ll be able to offer one of those in the fall tranche.

Manuel produces only 20 thousand bottles of wine per year, so quantities are limited. I’m afraid opportunities to offer his wines may not happen as often as I would like. 

Wait, Manuel also told me he’s a big fan of Ciro Biondi’s wines (whose 2019 Etna Rosso sold out in three days). I could bring him a bottle or two this summer. We’re certainly not above wine bribery at Open Tuesday. Keep your fingers crossed that it works.

Here is where Manuel Marinacci is on the map of northern Italy: Marinacci Manuel vini

The noble Nebbiolo grape likely takes its name from the Italian word for fog, nebbia (or the Latin nebula). A cool morning fog blankets the vineyards of Piedmont during Nebbiolo’s late autumn harvest. 

As for food pairings, Manuel texted me that he prefers to drink this wine with “BARBECUE !!!” Who am I to argue with that? 

A more conventional pairing would be risotto ai funghi porcini (risotto with porcini mushrooms), a great pick for vegetarians.

I recently learned that Enoteca al Risanamento elects to distribute only three Piedmont producers: Manuel Marinacci, G. B. Burlotto, and Giuseppe Mascarello. That puts Manuel in pretty spectacular company.

Sensational under-the-radar Barbaresco is not something you come across every day. Open Tuesday has the lowest price in the U.S. on Marinacci’s Barbaresco.

Manuel Marinacci - 2017 Barbaresco Rocche Massalupo

14.5% alcohol by volume

(To order, just click the link above and follow the prompts.)

That’s it. This is Open Tuesday’s last offer during the spring beta tranche. We’re so grateful you could join us for this introduction to some of our favorite Italian producers. It’s been a lot of fun, and we look forward to offering you more great bottles in the fall. 

Happy Tuesday,

Chris

If you have any questions or feedback, please email us: [email protected].  

How it works: 

After clicking one of the two links above, you’ll be able to request 1-12 bottles. Actually, that’s all you have to do!

About a week later, when we close the offer, you’ll get an email confirming how many bottles we allocated to your account. We will charge you when the wines are allocated.

We’ll do our best to allocate all the bottles you request. But when there are more requests than bottles available, we’ll allocate one bottle to all requesting members before allocating a second bottle to anyone. We want as many members as possible to try these wines.

This Manuel Marinacci 2017 Barbaresco is offer number 16 of 16 during the spring private beta test. We are sending offers on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday for six straight weeks (starting on 3/29).

We ship in increments of 12. With 16 offers in this tranche, there should be plenty of chances to get to 12, 24, or 36. If you don’t have an increment of 12 at the end of the beta test, we will get in touch.

Wines from the beta tranche will ship in late May-early June for $5 per bottle (if you have an increment of 12.) This is about the same as the price to ship coast-to-coast within the U.S. - but our wines come directly from Italy.

Once your payment method is on file, you can make future requests with just a few clicks from the offer email. If you don’t have a card on file, you can add one during your first order. Your personal financial information is protected by Stripe.

Chris MacLean

Rob Genova

Open Tuesday Wines S.r.l.s.

Via Augusto Anfossi 19, 20135 Milano - Italy