Everything about this Barbera d’Alba from Piedmont, Italy, exuded class, starting with the patterned cork, which gave off an alluring aroma of pipe tobacco. Balanced, complex, and vivacious, this red wine offered everything you could want in a Barbera.
Vibrant red fruit, most notably cherries and strawberries, dominated the mouth, although we enjoyed a complex array of tastes, including violets, charred wood, green wood, earth, and graphite. Bacon notes also emerged as the wine opened, a pleasant surprise, at least in our view. In the nose, we appreciated red cherries, raspberries, charred wood, grilled meat, and hints of vanilla, garrigue, and, again, bacon.
This Barbera d’Alba paired beautifully with grilled beef, but the savoury sauce was a little over-powering (not the fault of the wine). We could see this wine pairing nicely with tomato-based pasta dishes, grilled lamb or veal, and an array of Italian cheeses, such as Parmesan, Pecorino, and Asiago, to name a few. As a bonus, you could just as easily enjoy this wine on its own, which we did before dinner.
We would definitely purchase another couple of bottles, one for now and one to cellar.
Rating (from 70 to 100): 95/100. Of note, James Suckling gave this wine a 91/100.
Value: 5/5.
The Bottle Details…
Name: Peiragal Barbera d’Alba
Vintage: 2015
Producer: Marchesi Di Barolo
Region/Country: Piedmont, Italy
Grape Varietal(s): Barbera
Alcohol Content: 14.5%
Consumed: At home on a Friday night after a long work week.
Recommended By: Picked it off the shelf at the LCBO’s Vintages section.
Cost: $28.25 CAD
Bottle Presentation: A classic, stately label, with a somewhat subdued colour palate.
The Tasting Details…
Appearance: Medium ruby.
Nose: A medium nose, with plenty of aromas, including raspberries, red cherries, grilled meat, charred wood, vanilla bean, and a hint of green, possibly garrigue.
Taste: An extra-dry, medium-bodied red, with mellow (low) drying tannins and bright (high) acidity. In the mouth, we enjoyed vibrant red fruit, most notably tart red cherries and strawberries, violets, both green and charred wood, earth, and graphite. As it opened, we had a hint of bacon.
Finish: A long, tart finish with a touch of bacon.