I'm struggling to determine exactly what DOC this wine belongs to. It's just called "Barbera" on the label, but as far as I know there is no such DOC called just plain "Barbera". Since the winery is located in Asti, it could be a Barbera d'Asti, but the Waitrose website says it's from the region of Monferrato (which encompasses both the provinces of Asti and Alessandria), so does that make it a Barbera del Monferrato? The Vinchio-Vaglio website is no help either, this wine isn't even listed on it (made for supermarket?). At this point I'm beyond caring.
For some reason, it seems to be a crime for a winery to list a wine they make specifically for a corporate customer (like a supermarket) on their website. It says the name of the winery on the bottle, why not on the website? The winery would certainly benefit from the exposure. If anyone can tell me, please send me an email.
The wine itself is pretty good. It's everything you'd want from a £6 Barbera. Perfumed, cherryish nose and palate, and easy drinking. Recommended.
Barbera 2007
Waitrose
£5.99
3/5
Posts
A bit late, I'm afraid, but I thought I would answer your question. The wine comes from grapes grown in the more broad region of Piemonte, which as you know is quite a large region. They are almost all grown in the Asti region, but to be labeled Barbera d'Asti, they not only have to be grown in the delimited zone, they have to follow specific production methods. With more latitude, they are able to offer a nice wine, if simple, at a lower price. I import this wine into the United States, and enjoy their products. If available in the U.K., pick up a bottle of their Barbera d'Asti Superiore (our label is "I Tre Vescovi", and I think it is available there), which is now a DOCG wine. Hope that helps.
ReplyDeleteHi Nathan,
ReplyDeleteNever too late...thanks for the mail, that helps. I have indeed tried the 'I Tre Vescovi': http://timswineblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/vinchio-vagloi-i-tre-vescovi-barbera.html