Saturday, May 10, 2008

Villa Giada Suri Barbera d'Asti, 2005

This wine convinced me that I should buy more Barbera. The color is deep and dark, and the aromas are intense--black cherries, flowers, spices. You can easily smell them at arm's length. In the mouth, Villa Giada's Suri Barbera is full bodied and very smooth with ripe fruit flavors from front to back. It's a wine that demands that you slow down and enjoy the nuances--red berries, underbrush, herbs and spices--that keep changing as the wine airs and warms. It also teases you back for sip after sip. Although there are no noticeable tannins, I think this wine has what it takes to develop for many years.

Winemaker Andrea Faccio uses a traditional maceration and fermentation followed by full malolactic fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. The wine is then aged for several months in large barrels before bottling. It's a blend of traditional and modern, with the input of a visiting oenologist. It's my style of wine, but I suspect that tasters who like oak-influenced New World wines would also find it interesting and enjoyable. It has body, substance, complexity and flavor interest.

I bought my bottle for $10.99 from Village Corner in Ann Arbor. I have also seen it on the shelves of Sawall Health Foods in Kalamazoo for about the same price.

2 comments:

  1. Is there a better deal in red wine that is actually interesting to drink than Barbera d'Asti? For me there isn't

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really don't have much experience with Barbera. Do you have any recommendations, Craig?

    ReplyDelete