Bought on the producer reputation alone which I think is often a mistake, unless you know their wines well or are prepared to overpay for something that isn’t really worth the contents, or label kudos is what you’re after. This is true of this bottle. Undoubtedly a prettily made wine but for £16.80/$27.00 I was expecting more than just simple, light, bright juicy red fruits, lack of depth & no room for improvement. Sure it was ‘quite nice’, very clean and offering a certain elegance but there was not much else to recommend it for the price. A very quaffable wine but a very expensive ‘drink now’ option. 13.5%vol.
Obviously Giacosa is not known for Barbera d’Alba, but it’s surprising, nonetheless, that it would be considered not even worth the tariff, and a bit disappointing. I’ve been told that their Arneis is quite fantastic, but it, also, bears a stiff price compared to the rest of the market.
The (Roero) Arneis is a white isn’t it? Perhaps they do a red, too. I don’t know. Anyway… I did a Google(UK) search after your post & it came up with this…
“2006 Vintage statement
2006 was a difficult year for Bruno Giacosa. He suffered a serious stroke which resulted in him being absent from both the vineyards and cellar for most of the year and into the beginning of 2007. Although 2006 was overall a fine vintage in Piedmont, now that Bruno is in a position to judge the quality of the wines personally, he is not satisfied that the Barolo’s and Barbaresco’s produced at Giacosa meet his exacting standards.
He has taken the brave and we think highly honourable decision not to bottle these wines, which is clearly a considerable financial sacrifice.
Bruno’s decision underlines the remarkable recovery he has made. He is now back fully involved, alongside new winemaker Giorgio Lavagna, and after a clearly difficult period, the focus on quality remains as strong as ever at Giacosa.”
I don’t know if this affects the Barbera d’Alba.
I’d disagree with this. I’ve been drinking the Giacosa Barbera for years now and it’s usually fantastic. Since I moved out to Seattle, I no longer have a good local source – so I haven’t picked up any of the wine since the 2003.
Sure, Giacosa is more known for his big wines (had the 93 Barbaresco last night – drink up: good, not great). But people who like Barbera look out for his version.
Giacosa is not KNOWN for their Barbera d’Alba - Giacosa is known for Barolo and Barbaresco. I’m not saying they don’t make a great Barbera (or any other wine), it’s just that they are famous for the Barolo and Barbaresco - likely because they are the ‘elite’ Italian wines, whereas Barbera, Arneis, etc are not.
Yes – what great Barbaresco or Barolo producer is known for its barbera? None that I can think of. The two Conternos (Aldo and Giacomo/Roberto) each makes a great barbera, but their reputation certainly doesn’t hinge on those.
Phil – What were you expecting? Something to rival Giacosa’s nebbiolo wines? If so, I can see what you’d come away disappointed.
I’ve had it in past vintages and liked it. Sad to hear the 06 is simple, it’s usually much better. If you’re looking for ‘name’ Barbera (i.e. barbera from a highly regarded Barolo producer) try the Giacomo Conterno stuff.
Lee - McCarthy & Schiering on Queen Anne or in Ravenna can usually get this stuff when it’s released. I don’t think enough comes to Seattle for it to stay in stock long.
There’s lots of the Giacomo Conterno barbera around the New York area. At $45 (ouch!) for the 2006, it’s not exactly flying off the shelves.
And that, John, is why I no longer buy it. Barbera is a nice food wine that can age short-term. Rarely is it worth more than somewhere in the mid-high $20 range in my opinion. Giacosa’s pricing is completely divorced from reality across their range from what I’ve seen. The '08 Arneis is showing up for $30. It’s lovely wine - but it’s worth $20 at most. In the middle of a severe recession they’re simply trading on their name. Don’t blame them if they can get that kind of money, but I don’t drink the label.
In fairness to them, Rick, the euro is now at $1.45, near its all-time high.
True enough. For me, that and the fact that they price to the high end of what the wine’s worth even in euro terms takes it out of the realm of interest.