Tag Archives: barbera

Felice Abbona & Figli ‘Abbona’ 2020, Barbera d’Asti DOCG, Italy

07 Friday Apr 2023

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Deep ruby colored with a brownish tinge and medium viscosity tears (14.5% ABV).  The nose of this wine has medium intensity aromas of red cherry, red raspberry, dried herbs, a gamy note and some licorice.  The palate is dry with high acidity and low tannins, kinda crisp.  The body is medium (+) and I get red fruit flavors and licorice.  The gaminess returns on the back end alongside tart red cherry.  It is a food-friendly wine from the Piedmont that is quite bracing in it’s acidity yet has a nice freshness to it.  Made from the Barbera grape, this will pair well with rich pasta (obviously!) as well as grilled pork chops or even Moussaka.  It runs $20 and gets 89 points from me making it a 4 star effort.  Drink till 2027.  Salut….

Cooper’s Hawk Winery Barbera NV, California

05 Thursday Jan 2023

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Pale ruby colored with some lightening on the edges and medium legs on the wall.  This Barbera is nicely aromatic with black raspberry, bilberry, perfume, mint and vanilla.  The palate is dry but I sense a tiny bit of residual sugar, but under the threshold of making it an off-dry wine.  Medium acidity and lithe tannins lead me to medium intensity flavors of black berries, mint, baking spice and vanilla.  There is a touch of bitterness (not from the tannins), on the mid-palate that sits on the roof of my mouth.  The body is medium (-) and the finish is medium in length.  I picked this $24 effort to go with Duck in Orange sauce, I think it will work well.  This is slightly atypical of the Italian Barberas I have tasted in that the tannins are very mild and the acidity is lower than expected, perhaps from a warmer climate than usual.  It gets 87 points from me and 3 stars.  Drink soon.  Salut….

Cordero di Montezemolo ‘Funtani’ Barbera d’Alba Superiore 2017, Piedmont, Italy

22 Monday Nov 2021

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I wanted to introduce our virtual tasting group to this varietal- Barbera.  Unfortunately it was quite tart and that threw people off.  It is an opaque wine which conjured up ideas of a brooding, tannic wine when quite the opposite was discovered.  The group noted aromas of tar, cherry, cherry coke, luxardo cherries, coffee, tobacco and cola.  The flavors we encountered were sour cherry, Dr. Pepper, tobacco, red currant and raspberry.  Medium bodied, it had a short finish and was tart the whole time.  90 points for this $40 wine made it a 3 star effort.  I subsequently drank it two nights later and it was far better, perhaps worthy of a bump in score.  Drink till 2028 with something like breaded veal cutlets or an Alfredo dish, staying away from high acid foods with red pasta sauce.  Salut….

Cameron Hughes Lot 691 Barbera 2016, Amador County, California

21 Thursday May 2020

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Red wine with fish is a tough one but since I am grilling it, I feel there might be something to work with.  This Barbera is from California and has a nice shade of purple in the glass.  The nose is very cherry like, with some blue fruits lingering as well.  I also get a leafy component, like parsley.  Intriguing.  On the palate it is somewhat sweet with ripe cherry, cola and cedar.  It is juicy but not overly acidic, nor is it very tannic.  The mid palate has a nice warm feeling to the red fruit compote.  There is a definitive cedar note that runs the length of the wine.  It is very fruity and certainly tasty.  The finish is medium length and concentrates on those sweet cherries alongside some blackberry jam.  Lip smacking stuff.  Easy to drink and very approachable for the next 5 years.  I hope the pairing works for me!  89 points and 5 stars for this $13 steal.  Salut….

Mario Pelassa Bricco Enrichetta 2012

05 Tuesday Nov 2013

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From the Langhe region in Piedmont comes this Nebbiolo/Barbera blend.  Big Horn’s wife Ronny brought this offering to the weekend retreat.  Typically Nebbiolo is a fruity and full flavored grape that matures to a Burgundy-like silkiness after a few years in the cellar.  Barbera is a lighter more acidic grape with lower tannin levels.

This particular wine was rather thin on the flavor profile and did not have the weight I would have expected.  It was almost pink in color and very see-through.  Cherry-like nose and red currants came through on the palate with a touch of dryness from the tannins.  It was pleasant enough but lacked any secondary fruit and is obviously not built to cellar.  Ronny pointed out the hidden 14.7% alcohol on the label which did not show up in the glass.  I would have thought that such a high level would translate into more depth and extraction.  This wine can be found for $15 but only got an 85 out of me and 3 stars.  Unfortunately the retreat has ended and we dash back to reality tonight after the long drive home.  Salut….

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