Sandrone Barbera d'Alba 2017
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Barbera loves heat, and 2017 delivered the heat in spades. This is THE typical Barbera d'Alba wine. Ripe, spicy black fruit nose with deep oak, framing a core of pure black berries and plums along with a very deep purple-black color. In the mouth, the wine is all dark fruits. This shows blackberries and raspberries, with a chocolate and cocoa powder midpalate and hints of cassis. Concentrated, generous and mouth-filling. The high natural acidity of Barbera gives freshness and balance to the exuberant fruit. Long sweet finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Barbera d'Alba is a child of a hot vintage, and there's no missing its correspondingly sweet and dark fruit flavors. This vintage actually makes for an especially vibrant expression of Barbera, with solid notes of prune and spice. The fruit comes from parcels between Monforte d'Alba and Novello, from higher elevations where there is more wind and coolness. There is a pretty sweetness here and a nice balance and freshness considering the heat. You might pair this one with a beef-and-beet borscht topped with sour cream and dill.
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James Suckling
Succulent and delicious with lots of dark-chocolate and blackberry aromas and flavors. Medium body. Soft texture.
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Wine Spectator
This red exudes blackberry, boysenberry, spice and violet aromas and flavors. Firms up as the dense, gripping structure takes hold on the lengthy finish. Think roasted or grilled beef or lamb. Drink now through 2025.
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Luciano Sandrone is one of the most iconic producers in Barolo, and his is both a well known and extraordinary story. He started to learn viticulture at the age of 14 or 15, and after years of work as a cellarman he depleted his life savings and purchased his first vineyard on the Cannubi hill in 1977, though he could only manage his land on the weekends while he continued to work. He made his first vintage in 1978, in the garage of his parents, and then spent years refining his ideas about how to make a wine of distinction and utmost quality that respected the traditions of Barolo while incorporating new ideas and understanding about viticulture and vinification. He made every vintage until 1999 at home, until the winery he constructed in 1998 was ready for use.
Sandrone's wines are sometimes described as straddling the modern and traditional styles in the region: elegant, attractive and easy to appreciate right from their first years in bottle, but with no less power and structure than traditional Barolos. Along with the extremely low yields in the vineyard and an obsessive attention to training, pruning and harvesting, Sandrone has a very rational approach in the cellar. This approach, however, is also unique and outside of simple classification: Sandrone subjects his wines to medium-length maceration period, shorter than traditional, but makes limited use of new oak in the maturation process, which takes place in 500 liter tonneaux, all signs of a more traditional approach in the cellar. The entire range of wines, all limited in production, are jewels of impeccably balanced concentration and precision, and the ability to age for long periods of time.
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.