TN: Some Barberas

WINE TALK
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SOME BARBERAS - Lou’s (9/24/2014)

A group of us met last night to drink some Barbera’s. The wines were all under $40 with about half being purchased locally. The wines were pop and pour and served blind over the course of 2.5 hours. Breads and cheeses were available.

  • 2013 Vietti Roero Arneis - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Roero
    Light silvery green. The nose is very nice. Quite aromatic. Blind I thought Sauvignon Blanc? as it’s grassy with some tropical fruit. Slightly oily texture. On the palate, more herbal with a bit of minerals. A bit of residual sugar and a bit flat mar this for me a little. Nice enough finish. Its a fine wine. I would never guess Italy, but that’s ok. The group seemed to like it more than me. (87 pts.)


  • 2010 Gianni Gagliardo Barbera d’Alba La Matta - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d’Alba
    Dusty with a bit of cherries. Tart acidity. Red Berry flavors on the palate. Long finish with a slightly bitter cherry-pit kind of flavor. (88 pts.)
  • 2007 Fontanabianca Barbera d’Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d’Alba
    The groups and mine last place wine. We wondered how long a good, not great Barbera can last. This was bought for the tasting so it probably sat on a store shelve for a while. Purple/ruby in color. The nose has sour cherries with a dusty, saw dust quality. Nice texture and still some tannins. Some complexity but not much fruit left. Then, it just started to fall apart for me. I had it at 87 initially, but it just kept fading. Drink up. (84 pts.)
  • 2010 Tenuta Olim Bauda Barbera d’Asti Superiore Nizza - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d’Asti Superiore Nizza
    Purple/ruby in color. The nose has sour cherries and rosemary. With air, a raspberry cough drop note comes out. Nice acidity. Medium tannins. Cherries on the palate. Not sure where this goes from here. (87 pts.)
  • 2009 Lago di Merlo Barbera Tasting Room Reserve - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
    The only non-Italian in the bunch, this was the groups #2. Purple/ruby in color. The nose is dusty with plenty of vanilla and cherries. Tart acidity with slight tannins on the palate. Sour cherries. One of the better Cal Barberas I hve had. (88 pts.)
  • 2012 Vietti Barbera d’Alba Tre Vigne - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d’Alba
    One of the real values in the tasting. Ruby/purple in color. The nose has sour cherries and a slightly woody/dusty quality. Very balanced. Light tannins. Mildly complex. Nice cherry fruit. Long finish. Very food friendly. (89 pts.)
  • 2010 La Spinetta (Rivetti) Barbera d’Asti Cà di Pian - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d’Asti
    This is one that kept getting better for me. The first time thru I had it in last with 85 points. Purple/ruby in color. Red berries, oak, and dust. Others got a lot of sulfur, but I don’t usually notice that as well. On the palate, tart cherries. There was a lot of heat here initially but seemed to blow off with air. Firm tannins. (89 pts.)
  • 2010 Tenuta Olim Bauda Barbera d’Asti Superiore Le Rocchette - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d’Asti Superiore
    This is the less expensive of the two wines we tried from this winery. The group, and I, liked it better. Ruby/purple in color. The nose has dark cherries and is slightly woody. This is balanced with dark cherries and some depth of flavor. Drinking well all thru the tasting. Good value. (89 pts.)
  • 2010 Braida (Giacomo Bologna) Monferrato Il Bacialé - Italy, Piedmont, Monferrato
    This is not a Barbera but has 60% Barbera in it along with Pinot Cab and Merlot. Ruby/purple in color. The nose has cherries with a bit of vanilla. very balance. Medium tannins. The most complex wine of the night. Cherry and layers of red fruit. A bit of menthol. Nice finish. Mine and the groups WOTN. (91 pts.)
  • 2010 Domenico Clerico Barbera d’Alba Trevigne - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d’Alba
    I would have thought this would show better. I liked it a bit more than the group even. Purple/ruby and cloudy. Cherries and cranberries with a very wide streak of green. It did seem balanced but quite simple on the palate. Light cherries. Is this a proper bottle? I don’t know, but I can’t identify a fault per se. (87 pts.)
  • 2009 Viberti Giovanni Barbera d’Alba Bricco Airoli - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d’Alba
    Purple/ruby in color. The nose has cherries and spice. Juicy acidity. Black cherry fruit on the palate. Slight tannins. Nice finish. (89 pts.)

In general we found these good but not great. There is some value at the low end especially when at a restaurant and facing 2 and 3x retail markups. These are food friendly. At the same time, I don’t think any of us are going to be going out and buying many of these for our cellars.
Posted from CellarTracker

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[quote=“Loren Sonkin”]SOME BARBERAS - Lou’s (9/24/2014)

A group of us met last night to drink some Barbera’s. The wines were all under $40 with about half being purchased locally. The wines were pop and pour and served blind over the course of 2.5 hours.

Loren did you think of giving them some air before the tasting. I have found that they really do open up especially so young. Sounds like a great night!

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David, many did change, most for the better. This is usually how we run the group, so we just go with it. The idea is to find wines for our cellars. In the two hours, we usually get a good glimpse at where the wine is heading. You are right though, if I was drinking one at home, I probably would.

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I revisited all these on day 2 after corking and storing in the fridge from the night before. The Californian and the Two bottles from Olim showed well. I thought the Vietti Arnies performed really well at $20.

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That pretty well sums up my view of the best barberas. The only ones I’ve ever found memorable (and not in all vintages) are Aldo Conterno’s Conce Tre Pile and Giacomo Conterno’s Cascina Francia.

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Hi Loren, thanks for the write up. I have always found Barbera to be a good go to wine in restaurants just as you point out. And I understand your group’s focus on under $40 but if you ever want to see what this varietal is really capable of then I recommend trying the Ai Suma from Braida (Giacomo Bologna) or especially the Roberto Voerizo Riserva Pozzo dell’Annunziata. The Voerizo is only bottled in magnum and needs some aging…as do many of the Braida Bigotta and Uccellone bottlings. The Voerizo is also expensive but worth it for something special. Cheers,Bob

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Loren - Looking at this again, it looks like there may have been a slight preference for the Asti and Monferrato wines. Do you think that’s right?

Also, some of these producers, like La Spinetta and Braida, usually show their barrique aging pretty clearly. Other than the vanilla note in the Lago di Merlo, I don’t see any sign of oak in your notes. Thoughts?

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Bob, I do want to look for these to try.

John, I hadn’t thought about the Asti component. Perhaps.

I mention the oak in the La Spinetta and Briada as you note. I am not sure where the dusty/woody quality comes from in some of these wines either. Many had that. is that oak, stems or Barbera? In any event, it was not an issue. I am not an oak hater nor an oak lover.

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I’m so sad to hear that you guys didn’t enjoy these. I notice there’s not a single 2011 in the lineup. I’ve enjoyed 2010 at the upper tier but have had very little experience with 2012. However, I would have thought the Vietti would have brought the goods. I just post a piece about Barbera on my blog, but the highlights were the 2011’s, which are magnificent.

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+1 on the 2011’s