Ciabot Berton Bricco San Biagio Barbera D'Alba 2017

Ciabot Berton Bricco San Biagio Barbera D'Alba is an intense ruby purple in colour, the nose shows rich aromas of ripe, dark fruit compôte and a whiff of smokey vanilla oak. The rich texture is enhanced by the ripeness of the tannins and by the well-integrated oak, all balanced by a pleasant level of acidity and a fine, structured finish.

Country: Italy
Region: Piemonte
Subregion: Alba
Vintage: 2017
Colour: Red
Grape Variety: Barbera
ABV: 14.5%
Bottle Size: 75cl
Closure: Natural cork
Style: Dark and oaky
Drink With: Pasta with rich meat sauces

Bricco San Biaggio is not only Ciabot Berton’s flagship Barbera, but possibly one of the region’s too. The small hillside of Bricco San Biaggio in La Morra is actually Barolo territory, but Marco and Paola Oberto own a special patch of 60 year old Barbera vines that produce excellent wine. If they were to grub them up and planted Nebbiolo they could charge far more per bottle, but thankfully they’re happier to make wonderful wines than they are to charge premium prices. Most of the 2.5 hectare vineyard was planted 35 years ago, but 0.3 hectares was planted 10 years ago.

The lightness of the Bricco San Biagio soil is due to its veins of sand, conferring delicate floral aromas to the wines and resulting in elegant, refined examples of Barolo. However, among the rows of Nebbiolo vines is one of the oldest Barbera vineyards in the region. Planted after the Second World War by Marco and Paola’s maternal grandfather, Giacomo, these rows of vines extend for 0.3 hectares and yield small but concentrated bunches of Barbera grapes.

From James Suckling’s website:
This (2011) is a very polished Barbera with beautiful blackberry, dark-chocolate and flower character. Full body, super-integrated tannins and a long, long finish. This shows such class for the grape. Drink now. 93 Points