Michele Chiarlo makes this in Piedmont, from Barbera grown on the hills around Asti. It is the everyday red of the region, the one that shows up on tables far more often than its more famous neighbour, and it earns the place.
- Barbera, Piedmont's high-acid red grape.
- Barbera d'Asti, the appellation around the town of Asti.
- 13.5% ABV, medium body, dry.
- High acidity, medium tannin.
- Black cherry, plum, violet, earthy notes.
How it is made
Barbera is a grape that holds its acid even when it ripens fully, which is why it has been planted across the Langhe and Monferrato for centuries. The appellation rules for Barbera d'Asti keep the wine varietal: Barbera and nothing else. What separates one from another is mostly the site and how long the fruit stays on the vine.
How it tastes
Bright red and black cherry up front, a plum weight through the middle, and a violet lift that shows more as the wine sits in the glass. There is an earthy undertone beneath the fruit. The acidity is the thing that carries it, cutting through the richness and leaving the palate clean rather than heavy. Tannin is present but soft, so the structure comes from the acid more than the grip.
Good to know
Barbera was long treated as the workhorse of Piedmont, the wine growers drank while the Nebbiolo aged. It was also the grape that carried many families through the years when phylloxera and war made everything else uncertain, because it crops reliably and ripens without fuss. In Asti it is still the local wine, and it is still cheap enough there to be an everyday pour.
Contains alcohol.
