Bricco dei Guazzi Barbera d'Asti 2020
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Wilfred
Wong
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Intense ruby red with enveloping and complex aromas, well balanced with the alcohol component. The nose first releases notes of ripe cherry, plum, violet and spices. At taste it is vibrant, with elegant and silky tannins that emerge in the mouth and complex the olfactory sensations. Excellent acidity, characteristic of the variety.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2020 Bricco dei Guazzi Barbera d'Asti is bright and active on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine shines with aromas and flavors of ripe berries and dried spices. Enjoy it with grilled lamb brochettes. (Tasted: December 26, 2022, San Francisco, CA)
Other Vintages
2018-
James
Suckling
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.