Saturday, January 24, 2015

Franco Serra Barbera d'Alba, 2010

There aren't many wine bargains from the Piedmont region of northern Italy. Everyone now knows that the wines from this area--whether Barolo, Barbaresco or  Barbera--are top of the line. The Franco Serra wines are not particularly cheap, but they are incredible bargains. I had the excellent Barbaresco as a wine by the glass at Zazio's Italian Bistro in Kalamazoo last year and then bought a bottle for $23 at Bacchus. It will wait awhile in my cellar, but the $10 Barbera I bought at the same time is excellent for drinking any time.

Medium ruby. I just sampled some Montmorency dried cherries that I added to the salad, and this wine has precisely those intense, deep Montmorency smells and flavors. Also roses, smoke and dark earthy tones. Some have called this wine "rustic," but it's rustic in a very good way, imparting the best traditions of a great wine region. Excellent acidity; does a little dance on the tongue. Ripe fruit, vigorous acidity, Montmorency cherries on the finish. Clean and long. Wonderful.

The Franco Serra wines are no longer on the shelf at Bacchus, but the 2012  Barbera d'Alba is on sale for $9.99 at D&W in Kalamazoo. That is a true bargain.

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