100% Barbera d’Asti. Vines are 20 - 25 years old, with a yield of 7.5tons/ha and planted on a mix of sandy, argillaceous and calcareous
soil on steep slopes. Grapes were hand-picked, destalked and pressed before a temperature-controlled maceration in stainless steel
tanks. Matured in French oak casks for 9 months. Winemaker Giuliano Noè. Alc 13.5%, TA 5.2g/l, pH 3.6, RS 3.4g/l. Special Offer: Save
25%, £8.99 - £6.74 from 29/06 to 19/07. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 247 branches.

Rustic and oaky nose. Nice. Just right. A good example and worth trying.

24 May 2011

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mel

I have discovered this wine while I was a student in Torino in the 1990s and I have drunk it regularly ever since, for I have never had a bad bottle or vintage and I have always found that it offers great value for money and that it is true to the regional and varietal character. In Italy I used to buy for around 5 euros (in the right shop) but now it has gone up a bit also there (6-7 Es). I was very pleased when Waitrose started stocking it and I have stocked it up a few bottles when it has been on offer previously.

I may be a bit partial to it, but in my view it is a must try, for it combines some maturity with freshness and drinkability and it goes well with a lot of food. And most of all it tastes unmistakably piemontese (i.e. from Piedmont).

I am not sure that it is best described as oaky. It has some maturation in large oak casks, but it does not taste woody, and I think that the earthy and spicy taste are typical of Piedmont Barbera rather than imparted by oak.