Description
This Barbera d’Alba from Pio Cesare in Piemonte, Italy is a real star, with serious depth of flavour and structure which puts it way ahead of the average Barbera and means it’s great to drink now but will easily age for 3-5 years if you’d like to cellar it.
TASTING NOTE: A brilliant deep ruby colour in the glass. On the nose: Filled with plenty of ripe red and black fruits such as cherry, blackberry, and plum with soft spice notes of clove and cinnamon. On the palate: Full in body, with firm structure from fresh acidity typical of the Barbera grape, and noticeable tannins. The cherry, wild blackberry and blueberry notes continue onto the palate along with some earthier tones too. It’s a serious, complex style of Barbera d’Alba with a long, lingering finish. 14.5% alcohol by volume.
FOOD PAIRING, STORING AND SERVICE: This Barbera with its depth of flavour is well suited to pair with a great meal. A great local match would be a Piemontese dish such as rabbit ragu or veal with a truffle sauce as well as Italian cheeses such as the famous Parmigiano Reggiano. A decant for an hour or so before serving will greatly allow this wine to mellow. It can be easily aged into 2027 or 2028.
ABOUT: Pio Cesare was founded in 1881 and has been producing wines in the same family since. The estate is now run by the 6th generation, Federica Boffa and her cousin Cesare Benvenuto, both part of the original Cesare family. Pio Cesare makes some excellent Barolo and Barbaresco wines as well as this Barbera d’Alba. They own around 70 hectares in some of the best plots in Piemonte and their cellars are steeped in history dating back to the 1700s (and are also surrounded by Roman walls that originate from 50BC!)
See piocesare.it for more information.