Barbera was a big player in our early drinking, but is absent from our lineup now. I am looking for currently available bottles that are drinking good. Thanks.
Pio Césare Barbera d’ Alba 2021
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Alessandro e Gian Natale Fantino is one of my fav’s. Should be available from Kermit Lynch
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In a lighter style i find that Massolino, Burlotto, E. Pira, Cascina delle Rose, and Cogno produce Barbera that suits me, fruity, zippy, not terribly dense. Cogno also has their pre-phylloxera bottling which is not exactly what we’ve come to expect from barbera, but it is an amazing wine. In Nizza there aren’t that many options in the us markets, Bersano Generala is not bad, gets dinged a bit due to it’s more elegant nature, which I prefer. It’s true to its terroir, which is also a plus. Lot’s of Barolo producers also produce a Nizza, Oddero does a great job, as did Vietti though I haven’t tried theirs in several years. I’ve seen L’Armangia di Ignazio Giovine Titon on the shelves, a very good example of Nizza, some chalky soil so another wine that shows some elegance, less wood than the Bersano, nice level of nuance and complexity. Scarpa La Bogliona and Guasti Clemente Barcarato are two of the most age worthy Barberas, they really change and gain great complexity with age, always fun to drink and worth keeping an eye out for. You can add almost every great barolo producer’s Barbera to this list as well, some being more distinctive than others. Choose your favorite producers and try theres. Giuseppe Mascarello Scudetto is what Barbera used to taste like, shares some features with the Baracarato and Bogliona. And finally you can’t ignore Giacomo Bologna, Barbera specialist and producer of some truly amazing wines over the years. his Montebruna is a great value in more opulent and flamboyant style,
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I just picked some more Luigi Pira 2021 Superiore, which has exactly the balance I want in barbera – bright, reddish fruit with good acidity but decent ripeness. In the middle of the spectrum style wise, I’d say.
In a fuller style, Aldo Conterno seems have dispensed with the barriques. Their Conce Tre Pile is more like the Giacomo Conterno Francia barbera than most barberas – dark hue, black cherry/dark fruits. Sometimes that’s what I’m in the mood for. The '19 was particularly good.
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I don’t know of the availability in US but for my taste Prncipiano’s barbera Laura is the best barber of you like a vibrant terrific drinkability version.
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Olim Bauda makes a few nice Barberas including Nizza.
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Four of us had a bottle of the 2021 La Ca’ Növa Barbera d’Alba last week and all enjoyed it. I’ve only ever had barbarescos from this producer, and I found the barbera much more enjoyable (made in a less austere style than the barbaresco).
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This thread moved us to have this last night with dinner. Never had a Barbera from them, just their Barolos. This was in an order that arrived the other week. Popped and poured. Beautiful bright ruby color. Nose dominated by cherry with a touch of damp earth. Palate again dominated by cherry and some other red fruit, and a bit of spice. Medium bodied, smooth tannins and acidity are there but not overwhelming and in nice balance with the fruit. I was concerned about the 15% abv before tasting but it was well integrated. Overall, a real enjoyable Barbera and a pleasure to drink. Had with an herbed pork loin roast. Very good food wine, but also enjoyable by itself - I poured a half a glass more and had it by the fire after dinner. Would buy more.
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I’ve found that I often particularly like barberas from hot years like 2022, even if the alcohols look high.
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I have always favored these type of wines.
Thanks for the Barbera rec.
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We visited Oddero in September and really liked all of their wines. They are known for their Barolos, of course, but all of their wines are really good, and they also have a Nizza along with the Barbera d’Alba. They have new white and red vermouths that are tasty,too.
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Really good choices mentioned above. Would also add Braida’s Montebruna as a terrific value. Higher end Braida’s are also good but the price jumps up a bit. At the higher price point I prefer Giacomo Conterno’s 2 bottlings but they do need age to enjoy. At the lower end the unoaked Mauro Molina barbera is often tasty and ready to drink for not much more than $12…
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We went to Piemonte, including Nizza, last fall, and the Mauro Molino Barbera (can’t recall which bottling) was delicious at the winery. I was surprised and pleased to see how inexpensive multiple versions of it can be had in the states. I’m am going to order a few bottles to see if it holds up when not on vacation.
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I purchased the Molino through Empire Wine … Mauro Molino Barbera d'Alba 2023 :: Italian Red . Looks like it is now $14.
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Sorry for the late reply, but i see nobody mentioned Trinchero, who specialize in Barbera d’Asti. (Side note, if you look for top barbera it could be a good idea to look outside barolo/barbaresco zones, because they almost exclusively put nebbiolo in all the good locations and barbera ends up with dolcetto on the north slopes, in places like Barbera d’Asti and Nizza where barbera is top dog, it is grown in the best vineyards.)
Trinchero is good value at around 20€. It will also age well, had a killer 2008 last fall that revived my interest in barbera.
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From Nizza Michele Chiarlo makes a couple of really nice Barbera’s iMO and very inexpensive… Or used to be.
We visited Piedmonte earlier this year and had the opportunity to visit a couple of smaller wineries. I doubt you will find this at retail, but it is worth buying direct from the winery: Cascina Galarin Barbera d’Asti Le Querce (we had the 2023 vintage).
Recently, we did a little single blind tasting with friends of the Cascina Galarin, Vietti Barbera d’Asti, and G.D. Vajra Barbera D’Alba and the Cascina Galarin was the unanimous WOTN.
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In addition to excellent Moscatos Sagliola Sansi makes nice selection of Barberas from more austere Frem to 2 d’Asti Superiores and Foravia Nizza bottling. For me they are very good if some top reds are marred with generous oak. If you are not oakofobic they are worth to try
I do feel that Barbera gets slept on a lot. I’ve had some really interesting and enjoyable wines that are heavy on Barbera (La Stoppa Machionna, for example)