This is lovely. Plummy red fruit, black pepper, creosote and roses on the nose. Great balance of granite like minerals and sweet black fruit on the palate. Not a blockbuster, but a wine that I think is going to go well with my homemade sauce with leftover meatloaf and bucatini. No hurry to drink as I think this might pick up a touch more complexity with time in the bottle.
Hey Jud,
Barbera makes perfect pizza wine.
I know it’s considered second class citizen to Barolo but if you can’t wait 20 years then Barbera will work beautifully.
I bought this in the '90s and it was a special wine with real sense of place and sap. Then, Vietti went heavy on the wood circa 1996 and I moved on. I’ve always wanted to have a try again, but it is pricey and a bit hard to find in my market so I’ve stayed on the sidelines. I still have one lone bottle of the 1995 or 1996 sitting in the cellar. Pizza is on the menu next week. Hmm.
Cheers,
fred
It was fantastic with the acid tang and spiciness of the sauce. Would be great with Pizza. Fred, agree it is expensive for a Barbera, but did not notice that much oak, perhaps they dialed back?
This sounds great to me. Barbera is one of the (many) common Italian varietals that falls into my ‘I like this a lot but hardly ever drink it’ category. Aglianico, Cannonau, Nero d’Avola, etc. etc.
what are some good value Barbera? Been meaning to explore Barbera but not sure where to start. Also does vintage make a difference and if so what recent vintages are good and what should I avoid?
Hey, I’m no Barbera expert so I can’t help with the vintages but these are easily accessible producers and they’re under $20 so there’s no damage. Nicer bottles of Barbera, whatever that means, are in the $30 range.
Barbera is “typically” fruit forward, dark, and lush. A poor analogy might be a Santa Rita Hills syrah if you’re looking for a general style of variety for comparison. Someone help me here…
PIO CESARE 2017 Barbera D’ALBA
VIETTI 2017 “TRE VIGNA” Barbera D’ASTI
Nice note Jud. Love me some Barbera, with that acid it’s so versatile at the dinner table.
Tom
Thanks. The only Barbera I have had was the Tre Vigna about 6 years ago at a local wine shop that hosted Vietti for a tasting. And I really liked it but was to focused elsewhere (Barbaresco) and never got back to Barbera. And both of those you recommend are readily available. I tried a Vajra Dolcetto about a week ago because that’s another Piedmont varietal I want to look in to. Good wines to drink while waiting for the Barbaresco/Barolo to age.
Alright, you’re in good shape to start. Dolcetto is the red headed step child behind nebbiolo and Barbera.
Funny story. There’s a great wine bar in Alba with tons of wines by the glass and I was looking forward to seeing all the Barolo and Barbaresco.
Sit down and look around, waiter comes up, and I ask “what’s everyone drinking?”
He says “Aperol Spritzers and Barbera”
Alright then we’ll drink like a local “one of each, please. Grazie” paired well with the potato chips and olives.
I was heart broken. LOL
I love Barbaresco and Barolo as much as anyone, but I love different varieties and Piedmont has so many interesting ones. Not only Barbera and Dolcetto, but Freisa, Ruche, Vespolina, Grignolino, Croatina, and Pelaverga are all worth trying and learning about. And Brachetto (think a red version of Moscato d’Asti) is just about the best breakfast wine there is.
Can you recommend any reading material to learn more about Piedmont? Anything online? I’ve been reading reviews and articles on Wine Review Online but i could use more info. Also have been using Wine Folly and its a great start but lacks depth.
so how was that barbera spritzer? lol. Sounds just wrong to me!
No no no! Aperol Spritzer is Italian herb liqueur, orange flavor, mixed with prosecco and soda. It’s what all the beautiful people drink. LOL
Bryan -I enjoyed “The Wines and Foods Of Piemonte” by Tom Hyland - good overview and some nice interviews with producers.
I don’t know of anything off the top of my head except for “Wine Atlas of the Langhe,” a nice book that might be a bit outdated now. But there have to be web sites that have deeper info on Piedmont. I always think the best education is through tasting as many different wines as you can (and visiting the properties when possible).
Karin O’Keefe’s Barolo and Barbaresco is current and good. Nicolas Belfrage’s From Barolo to Valpolacello (1999) is smart and deeply informed, but it’s getting a bit out of date in parts.
I’m so much with you on this one.
I love simple everyday Barberas as wonderful weekday wines, but I really can’t wrap my head around those super-extracted, heavily oaked blockbuster-Barberas. To me that variety is probably the least suitable for such style yet it seems every other producer is making such wines and I just don’t get the appeal.
Freisa and Pelaverga are my sweethearts. Grignolino seems like a lovely variety as well, but so very few examples seem to be available, so I haven’t been able to get a good picture of the variety. Ruchè is wonderful when it is made into that crunchy and somewhat rustic style, but some producers have been making wines which emphasize the Gewurztraminer-like rosewater tones of the variety and try to keep the structure as soft as possible. They can be fun, but lack the thrill of the better examples.
Otto, I’m not sure if they come to Finland, but try the La Miraja Grignolino and Ruche. A very small producer, but really interesting wines.
I’m pretty sure we don’t get any, since we have this wonderful state-run alcohol monopoly that keeps all the interesting stuff out of the reach of the consumers. I’m pretty sure we haven’t seen a single bottle of Grignolino adorn the shelves of our monopoly shops in the history of Finland.
However, I’ll try to remember the producer if I ever come across them in an internet shop, since ordering stuff online from anywhere in the EU is pretty easy - as long as the delivery costs are reasonable.