2018 Elio Sandri Barbera d'Alba Superiore

Community Tasting Notes (4) Avg Score: 90.8 points

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  10/30/2021 - bevetroppo Likes this wine: 91 Points

  I wasn't quite finished with my note when I went to bed yesterday and thanks to an overnight crash, it got wiped out. So I will do my best to recreate it, unfortunately with a little less conviction/detail.
  
  The first impression was noted in pulling the substantial cork, an area where size matters, at least as a tell of the winemaker's aspirations, if not the end result.
  
  But this is a stunningly good and soulful barbera, with deep ruby color and penetrating aromatics of ripe and fresh red fruits, fresh-turned earth and floral, rose-inflected top notes. Sleek but not oak-battered on the palate, mouth-filling with more weight than you might expect but light and beautifully integrated tannins on the positive finish. (Note: I double-checked and Superiore rules require a minimum of four months' barrel age.)
  
  It bears no resemblance to juicy everyday barbera (a style I also love) or the heavy-handed extraction and over-oaking that too often pass for "prestige" barbera bottlings (a style I hate).
  
  If you want to get a sense of barbera's potential (and QPR), this would be a good place to start.

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  1/31/2021 - Gunakadeit Likes this wine: 88 Points

  Balanced, but kind of flat and uninteresting.

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  12/23/2020 - bevetroppo Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Day later from memory, no detailed notes. A marvelous barbera, skating the line between fresh and lush to perfection. Great aromatics, deep red berry and black cherry fruit, saturated flavors but not at all jammy oaky or over-the-top. Fantastic with homemade pizza but honestly it can be sipped, slurped or savored with equal enjoyment. 14% alcohol but no heaviness whatsoever and these days that's on the low side for high-end barbera, regrettably.

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  9/28/2020 - AWBryce wrote:

  liquorice, black cherry, lively acid, long ripe fruit finish. this has the stuffing to age well.

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