Classic

Barbacan

Barbacan Fracia Valtellina Riserva 2019

Name: Barbacan Fracia Valtellina Riserva 2019
Brand: Barbacan
SKU: barbacan-fracia
Price: 76.00 USD
Availability: InStock

$76.00

Style: Dry, medium-bodied red; structured and precise with firm fine tannins, high natural acidity, and a long mineral finish; built for significant aging
Grapes & Terroir: 100% Chiavennasca (Nebbiolo); sandy gneiss, granite, and quartz soils at 1,310-2,460 ft elevation; steepest estate terraces; Valgella subzone; organically farmed; Valtellina Superiore DOCG Riserva, Lombardy
Winemaking: Hand-harvested; long maceration on skins; extended aging in large oak botti; bottled unfined, unfiltered; minimal added sulfites; minimum 3 years aging before release per DOCG Riserva rules
Serving temperature & decanting: Serve at 61-64°F; decant 1 hour minimum; will develop for 10-15 or more years
Pairing: Pizzoccheri della Valtellina
Similar to: Barolo, Barbaresco, Ghemme, aged Langhe Nebbiolo

Barbacan Fracia Valtellina Riserva 2019 is a dry red wine made by Angelo, Luca, and Matteo Sega at their organically farmed estate Barbacan, from 100% Chiavennasca, the local name for Nebbiolo, grown on their steepest terraced vineyard in the Valgella subzone of Valtellina Superiore DOCG, Lombardy. The vines grow on sandy soils rich in gneiss, granite, and quartz at 1,310 to 2,460 ft elevation, worked entirely by hand. Grapes undergo long maceration on skins followed by extended aging in large oak botti. Barbacan Fracia Valtellina Riserva 2019 is bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal added sulfites at 13.5% ABV.

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Important Compliance Requirements

FedEx and other carriers we might occasionally use can only deliver wine to customers who are 21 years or older. Someone must be at the address to receive the package, carriers don't just drop a package and leave. They must ensure the person receiving the wine is 21 or older.

Re-shipping a Package

If a package is returned to us after three failed delivery attempts, we can only re-ship the wine upon payment of a re-shipping fee, to be determined based on the shipping address and number of bottles. Shipping wine is extremely expensive. We are sorry about this, but we have no other choice. Please make sure there's always someone at the address you enter as your shipping address.

If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.

Re-routing a Package

If you'd like to reroute a package after it's been shipped, we can do so for a $20 re-routing fee. We cannot re-route a package across state borders. For any change of address, please contact us as soon as possible, ideally within 1-2 days from placing the order or we cannot guarantee we'll be able to reroute or change your order's shipping address.

Canceling an Order

If you'd like to cancel an order after it's been shipped, we can do so upon payment of a small cancellation fee – the amount depends on the size of the order. Carriers charge us a lot of money to recall a package en-route.

Heat/Frost damage

We are not responsible for heat- or frost-related issues. We offer ice-packs upon request. Please let us know if you think that there could be heat-related issues. If we don't hear anything from you regarding weather issues before an order is shipped, or if you don't request a hold due to the weather, we are not responsible for heat/frost damage.

Placed an order. What next?

1. You will receive an order confirmation email with your order summary.*

2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

3. Please track your package using the tracking service.

4. The carrier will attempt delivery a maximum of 3 times. After 3 delivery attempts, your package will be sent back to our warehouse.**

*Please ensure your email address is correct; otherwise, you will not receive the order and shipping confirmation emails.

**If delivery is attempted 3 times without success, or if you fail to retrieve your package from the carrier depot by the stated deadline, the shipping fee will not be refunded to the customer.

Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

Barbacan Fracia Valtellina Riserva 2019

$76.00

Producer profile

Barbacan

Barbacan is the winemaking project of Angelo Sega and his sons Luca and Matteo, based in the Valgella subzone of Valtellina, in the steep-terraced hillsides above the Adda River valley. The name Barbacan comes from the local dialect word for the buttresses built into the dry-stone terrace walls that hold the hillside vineyards in place. It is also the family nickname, a detail that says something about how rooted the Segas are in this landscape and its traditions.

The family farms entirely by hand, as the gradient and configuration of the terraced vineyards make mechanical equipment impossible. Grapes are harvested in small baskets and carried down the mountainside steps by the harvesters. The terraces themselves, built over centuries from the granite and gneiss rock cleared from the hillside, are maintained by the family as a living piece of agricultural heritage. Angelo has described the family's winemaking ethics in terms of service to the territory rather than technical ambition: their role, as they see it, is to accompany healthy, living grapes through fermentation without imposing a style.

All farming is certified organic. Fermentation is spontaneous, using the native yeasts on the grape skins rather than commercial strains. Sulfite additions are minimal across the range and zero or very low for certain cuvées. Nothing is fined or filtered. In this respect, Barbacan is one of the very few producers in Valtellina working at this level of commitment to non-intervention.

The Fracia is the estate's most demanding wine and comes from their steepest parcel in Valgella, where yields are the lowest and the labor the most intensive. The labels across the entire Barbacan range are inspired by Neolithic cave paintings found in the cliffs of the nearby municipality of Teglio, chosen to reflect the ancient human connection to these mountains that predates viticulture itself.

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Wine region

Lombardia, Italy

Valtellina is a narrow Alpine valley in the northern Lombardy province of Sondrio, running roughly east to west along the Adda River, bordered to the north by the Swiss Rhaetian Alps and to the south by the Orobie Alps. The vineyard area stretches roughly 25 miles along the valley's sun-facing northern slope, where a series of steep, terraced hillsides rise from about 980 ft at the valley floor to nearly 2,600 ft on the upper terraces. These are among the most dramatic vineyard sites in Italy, and the term heroic viticulture, used by the Italian wine authorities to describe vineyards accessible only on foot and steeper than 30%, applies across most of the zone.

The appellation Valtellina Superiore DOCG covers five recognized subzones along the valley's south-facing slope: Sassella, Grumello, Inferno, Valgella, and Maroggia. Valgella, the easternmost and largest of the five, runs from the town of Teglio toward Chiuro and is planted on steep, terraced slopes with soils of disintegrated granite, gneiss, and schist, low in fertility but rich in mineral character. The coarse, sandy granite-based soils drain quickly and reflect heat during the day, allowing Chiavennasca to ripen despite the altitude, while cool mountain air at night preserves natural acidity.

Chiavennasca is the local dialect name for Nebbiolo, the variety that dominates Valtellina's vineyards and is the only red grape permitted in Valtellina Superiore DOCG. In this alpine environment, grown at higher elevations and on different soils than in Piedmont, Nebbiolo produces wines that are notably different in character from Barolo and Barbaresco: lighter in body, higher in acidity, more mineral and herb-driven, with tannins that are fine-grained and precise rather than broad. The altitude means later harvests, sometimes extending into October, and a growing season shaped as much by mountain climate as by Mediterranean warmth.

The Valtellina Superiore Riserva designation requires a minimum of three years aging before release, with at least two of those years in oak. This extended period before market is part of what gives wines like the Barbacan Fracia their structural complexity and aging potential.

Frequently asked question

When is my order shipping?

We are doing your best to ship your order in 2-3 business days.

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Do I have to sign upon delivery?

Yes, someone 21 years or older must sign for the package.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

What if I miss a delivery?

Worry not, we have options, but please read carefully.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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What is natural wine?

Natural wine is a type of wine made in small batches from organic or biodynamic grapes with minimal intervention.

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What is Biodynamics?

Biodynamic wine is wine made from grapes farmed biodynamically. Biodynamic farming is a holistic approach.

What is organic wine?

Organic wine is made with grapes farmed organically. Organic farming is an alternative to conventional farming.

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