Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Dense and concentrated aromas of black-plum jam, clove, vanilla and violets leap from the glass from the start. Blackberry and black-cherry compote fill the palate as sweet and savory spices emerge, giving way to dried violets, mocha and dark earthy notes. The wine finishes with elegant tannins and pops with fresh Barbera acidity. Drink now–2035.
Editors' Choice -
Wine Spectator
A bright, focused red, this reveals plum, fruitcake, leather, tar and oak spice aromas and flavors. Dense, with serious tension driving the long aftertaste. Intense and complex. Decant now. Drink now through 2030.
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James Suckling
A rich and intense barbera with dark plums, blackberries, ground spices and chocolate on offer. Structured and dense with chalky texture to the tannins and juicy acidity. Lingering finish. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Barbera d'Asti Bricco della Bigotta shows a velvety dark appearance with blackberry, tar and camphor ash. This is a full-bodied and thickly textured expression of Barbera with points of bright acidity that give the wine extra lift and focus.
Friendly and approachable, Barbera produces wines in a wide range of styles, from youthful, fresh and fruity to serious, structured and age-worthy. Piedmont is the most famous source of Barbera; those from Asti and Alba garner the most praise. Barbera actually can adapt to many climates and enjoys success in some New World regions. Somm Secret—In the past it wasn’t common or even accepted to age Barbera in oak but today both styles—oaked and unoaked—abound and in fact most Piedmontese producers today produce both styles.
Recognized as the source of the best Barbera in all of Italy, Asti is a province (as well as major city) in Piedmont, consisting of a gentle, rolling landscape with vineyards, farmland and forests alternating throughout.
Barbera d’Asti can be made in an array of styles from relatively straightforward, fruity and ready for consumption early, to the more concentrated, oak aged version with an ability to cellar impressively for 10-15 years and beyond. Some of the very best sites for Barbera in Asti are concentrated in the subzone of Nizza Monferrato. Other red varieties grown here include Freisa, Grignolino and Dolcetto, which can be bottled varietally or blended into Barbera.
Historically consumers commonly associated the Asti region with Asti Spumante and Moscato d’Asti, both playful, aromatic, sparkling wines made from the Muscat grape. Asti Spumante is less sweet, fully fizzy and more alcoholic (yet still clocking in at only around 9% alcohol) while Moscato d’Asti is sweeter, gently sparkling (“frizzante”) and closer to 5 or 6% alcohol. Each is produced in stainless steel tanks to preserve the fresh and fruity flavors of the grape, often including peach, apricot, lychee and rose petal. Asti is also the spot for the pink-hued Brachetto d'Acqui, a slightly sparkling wine ready to charm with its raspberry and rose flavors and aromas.