Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Barbera D'Alba Campass comes from 35-year-old vines within Serraboella that generally ripen a bit earlier. The wine spent 18 months in French oak barrique (20% new and the rest old) and is the only wine for which they use barrique. It has a deep red/purple color and opens to layered and pure notes of blackberry liqueur, lavender oils, cedar, and wet stone, with a fresh pepper spice that frames the aromatics beautifully. The acidity is remarkable and refreshing, with a bright, even feel without greenness and refined tannins. Very pretty and long on the palate, this is certainly a highlight of the vintage.
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Vinous
The 2022 Barbera d'Alba Campass is a ripe, exotically lush wine. Black cherry, plum, spice, leather, menthol and chocolate are all dialed up. The personality of this warm, dry year is more evident here than it is in the Serraboella.
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Wine Spectator
Offers bright black cherry, blackberry, violet and earth flavors up front, with a modicum of dry tannins following through on the finish. Overall, this red maintains a sense of balance, with fine length. Drink now through 2029. 330 cases made, 110 cases imported.
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.
An historic village situated right in between the famous regions of Barolo and Barbaresco, Alba is also the name for the larger wine region surrounding the village.
In a sense, “Alba” is a catch-all phrase, and includes the declassified Nebbiolo wines made in Barolo and Barbaresco, as well as the Nebbiolo grown just outside of these regions’ borders. In fact, Nebbiolo d’Alba is a softer, less tannic and more fruit-forward wine ready to drink within just a couple years of bottling. It is a great place to start if you want to begin to understand the grape. Likewise, the even broader category of Langhe Nebbiolo offers approachable and value-driven options as well.
Barbera, planted alongside Nebbiolo in the surrounding hills, and referred to as Barbera d’Alba, takes on a more powerful and concentrated personality compared to its counterparts in Asti.
Dolcetto is ubiquitous here and, known as Dolcetto d'Alba, can be found casually served alongside antipasti on the tables of Alba’s cafes and wine bars.
Not surprisingly, given its location, Alba is recognized as one of Italy’s premiere culinary destinations and is the home of the fall truffle fair, which attracts visitors from worldwide every year.