Barbera d’Alba Alabarda
Denominazione di Origine Controllata
This Barbera is made from grapes grown on the Bricco di Neive hill facing east-south-west on the clayey soil of an old vineyard known locally as Boschi.
The grapes are left to over ripen on the vines, and are then carefully selected on picking to produced a wine which is only released in the very best vintages.
Ageing takes place in small French barrels for a period of 24 months, followed by 12 months in the bottle. Ruby red with garnet highlights, the wine has a rich, intense, complex nose showing red fruit and slightly spicy overtones, and a long, soft, mouth-filling flavour with considerable structure and balance.
“Alabarda” was chosen to describe this big, powerful, well-structured wine because it is the Italian word for “halberd”, the Mediaeval weapon which came to be synonymous with warrior-like virtues.
DESIGNATION: Barbera d’Alba d.o.c.
GRAPE-VARIETY: 100% Barbera
VINEYARDS: village of Neive – Bricco di Neive
FACING: east-south-west
SOIL: clayey
VINE-TRAINING SYSTEM: Guyot
YIELD: hl. 60 hl./hectare
FERMENTATION: in steel for 8 days at a controlled temperature, with traditional pumping of the must over the cap.
AGEING: 24 months in 225-litre oak barrels, followed by 12 months in the bottle.
APPEARANCE: deep ruby red with garnet highlights.
NOSE: rich, complex and intense, showing red fruit and slightly spicy overtones.
TASTE: soft and mouth-filling, with considerable structure, great balance and a long, smooth finish.
PAIRINGS: a good match throughout a meal, and especially for pasta, meat and cheese.
ALC. BY VOL: 14%
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 16-18°C.
DOWNLOAD: Barbera d’Alba Alabarda
