Community Tasting Note

ElSol Likes this wine:

Sunday, September 10, 2017 - I drank a 2010, followed by a 2011 a week later. I'll put the same review on both as they were very similar. The '11 may be a bit more muscular but I don't really recall significant differences. Anyway...

After enjoying Barbera at a Mendocino winery a few years ago, I stocked my cellar with an assortment- mostly from California. But this ended up a disappointment- none of those Barbera's lived up to my recollection of what I enjoyed, so I lost interest in the variety. The other night I selected a random bottle out of my cellar- almost put it back when I picked a Barbera. I'm glad I didn't. This was fantastic.

First thing I noticed on opening is that the cork was darkly stained black ('11 was a bit lighter). To me this is a good sign, as I do like deep dark reds. The nose was fruity- perhaps jammy. The palette is highly concentrated red fruits- cherries and cranberry. I tend to prefer wines that go toward dark fruit, but the red fruit here was so concentrated and savory it was quite an experience. I think the thing that delivers the punch is an intense acidity. But it was so balanced with the fruit, tannins and alcohol that the acidity was never off-putting (certainly not sour). The result is a "lip smacking" wine that coats your palette and makes you forget everything else. Long, long finish.

This was quite good out of the bottle, and slightly chilled. But it really shined after about an hour in air- softening and getting more depth. But after an hour it went down hill- feeling thin and lacking character.

This paired well with lamb. But the intensity also makes this an enjoyable wine to drink by itself. I'll probably grab a few more bottles of this vintage while I can still find them.

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