Winemaker Notes
Pair with warm appetizers, simple pasta dishes, and red and white meats.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Barbera d'Alba Ornati is a dark and thickly enriched red wine that never sees contact with oak. Like all of Parusso's wines, this Barbera is distinguished by its unique winemaking approach. Fruit is harvested late as Marco Parusso prefers a higher degree of alcohol in his wines if that means lower perceived acidity. Barbera is a highly acidic grape and taming that freshness is a challenge for many vintners in the area. This expression is round and succulent with almost-sweet flavors of blackberry confit and cherry liqueur. Vines are planted in white limestone soils and this adds to the overall elegance of the wine's perfumes.
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.