Winemaker Notes
Pair with cured meats, pastas and red meat.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of wild berry, violet and dark spice mingle with earthy notes of truffle and a hint of game. On the savory palate, bright acidity accompanies juicy morello cherry, black raspberry and star anise along with a hint of eucalyptus. Polished tannins provide lithe support.
Editors' Choice -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Barbera planet is a big one, and creating territorial identity here through the production of single-vineyard expressions is important. This area, Nizza, has more limestone soil compared to others throughout the region, and it is a difficult appellation with severely limited yields. To make a Nizza you really need to make wine well. The 2016 Nizza Cipressi is a beautiful one for sure: full, soft and generous. It spends 12 months in large oak casks. This should be a good value buy and a nice pairing with dried salami and cold cuts.
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Wine Spectator
Though dense and packed with blackberry, blueberry and spice flavors, this red is also vibrant and nimble. A solid backbone of tannins suggests this should evolve slowly. Drink now through 2025.
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.