As SommSelect Editorial Director David Lynch notes, Italy’s wealth of native grape varieties is unrivaled in the world of wine. And while Piedmont’s Barbera is hardly an obscurity, it’s still greatly under-appreciated. This wine is a perfect showcase of this variety’s many charms.
Some of you don’t require convincing, but I fear there are still many others who have yet to embrace Italian Barbera. To them I say, what’s not to love? Barbera, native to Piedmont and one of the most-planted red grapes in Italy, is one of the more happy-go-lucky varieties around—loaded with fruit and acid, easy to grow, and capable either of standing on its own or playing well with others. Barbera is appreciated by Piedmontese vintners as the “easy child” in a family that includes the brooding, temperamental Nebbiolo grape (of Barolo/Barbaresco fame). Barbera is what winemakers and vineyard hands drink with their buddies after work. If I’m in a restaurant with an unfamiliar and/or expensive wine list, I look for a Barbera, because I know it will deliver value-for-dollar. I trust Barbera to be consistent from vintage to vintage, and to be incredibly versatile with food. And when I start in on a bottle like this 2015 Barbera d’Asti from Forteto della Luja, I usually can’t stop until it’s gone. The minute I think I’m done, the combination of juicy red fruit and refreshing acidity pulls me back in. Still need convincing? This beautifully priced bottle should do the trick.
Over the years, the Monferrato region of Piedmont has become widely accepted as the Barbera grape’s place of origin, but of course its territory has spread out over most of north and central Italy. As you move north and east out of Barbaresco, toward Asti and Monferrato, the focus in the vineyards is not on Nebbiolo but Barbera and, just as notably, the white Moscato. Forteto della Luja is based in Loazzolo, a village which lends its name to perhaps the most prestigious appellation for Moscato-based passito (dried-grape) wines, and Forteto della Luja remains one of the top producers of both Loazzolo nectars and lighter, lightly sparkling Moscato d’Asti. (At one time, sparkling wines from Moscato—i.e. Asti Spumante—were Piedmont’s chief claim to fame, and the hills around Loazzolo, Canelli, and other nearby towns remain dominated by this floral white.)
In soils of calcareous marl (similar to Barolo/Barbaresco), at altitudes between 500-600 feet, Giovanni Scaglione has picked up where his legendary father, Giancarlo, left off, farming a small collection of steep-pitched vineyards in ultra-sustainable fashion. No synthetic treatments are used in the vineyards, which Giovanni plows by horse, and the winery is solar-powered. Sulfur additions are kept to an absolute minimum. “Mon Ross” is the name of the vineyard source of this wine: The soils are a brownish mix of calcareous clay and sand, with vines averaging around 30 years of age and altitudes topping 500 meters.
The 2015 “Mon Ross” Barbera d’Asti was fermented and aged in stainless steel and later “finished” in small, used oak barrels for 3 months. As with so many 2015s from all across Europe, this is a full-throttle expression of ripe fruit—very reminiscent, in fact, of the many exceptionally concentrated 2015 cru Beaujolais we’ve offered in the last few months. In the glass it is a deep, near-opaque ruby moving to magenta at the rim, with an exuberantly fruity nose of black and red plum, cherry, violet, and a hint of chocolate. It is juicy and lush, nearly devoid of tannin (as Barbera often is), and yet lifted by bright, tangy acidity. It is just straight-up yummy and satisfying, ready to drink now and especially appealing with a slight chill; I wholeheartedly endorse either keeping this wine in the refrigerator until it is ready to serve or plopping it in a cooler alongside the beer, which will soften any acidic edges and highlight the ample fruit. Among its many applications, this is a great choice for barbecue: there are no harsh tannins (or high alcohol) to clash with any heat from chiles or other spices. Grill up some ribs, slather them with sauce, and uncork a few bottles of this wine. This is pure pleasure—and isn’t that what wine is all about?
— David Lynch
