Hastae Barbera d'Asti Quorum 1999
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This cooperative effort from a group of Piedmontese producers displays the spectacular quality that can be achieved with Barbera. The brilliant oenologist, Riccardo Cotarella, is the magic behind this wine. Made from modest yields of 35 hectoliters per hectare, the 1999 Quorum experienced malolactic in barrel, with pump-overs and punch-downs, and was bottled without filtration after spending 10 months in 100% new French oak. A spectacular achievement for this varietal, it may not have the nobility to age longer than 6-8 years, but for drinking over the next 7-8 years, there is no doubting its explosive qualities as well as its extraordinary ripeness and richness. Its opaque purple color is followed by a sumptuous bouquet of black fruits, coffee, vanillin, chocolate, and licorice. This super-endowed, full-bodied, rich, intensely-concentrated, opulent Barbera is prodigious.
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Wine Spectator
Complex. A rainbow of fruit on the nose, from berries to cranberries to orange peel, with hints of toasted oak. Full-bodied, juicy and powerful, with masses of vanilla, coffee and spice and a long, intense aftertaste. Superb.
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.