Winemaker Notes
Pair with heavy meat dishes, roasts, also seasoned meat dishes and aged cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of ripe black-skinned berry, clove and ground pepper mingle with fragrant blue flowers and a whiff of toast. Concentrated and savory, the full-bodied palate doles out blackberry jam, mature Marasca cherry and exotic spices. Velvety tannins lend finesse, while fresh acidity keeps it light on its feet.
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James Suckling
Extremely pretty bouquet here of brambleberry bush, chocolate, mocha-scented oak and cocoa. Full body, refreshing acidity, some really nice structure and a chewy finish.
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Wine Spectator
A dense and brooding red, this displays rich black cherry, blackberry, vanilla and chocolate aromas and flavors. Not as fluid as some of its peers, but complex, solid and long. Drink now through 2024.
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.