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Dear Friends,
At long last, Barbera is back in store!
Today’s release, Lot 866 2018 Barbera hails from the Nizza DOCG, the celebrated (and relatively new) Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) for Piedmont Barbera which was established after years of painstaking work by some of the most well-regarded producers of Barbera in its homeland of Asti. Nizza Barbera is grown on just 600 acres of prime Piedmont vineyard land, with production limited to just 18 Comuni (municipalities) within that small, prestigious area.
While Barbera is thought of by many as a classic everyday drinking Italian red - Nizza is a different animal entirely. The drier growing conditions offered by the high-elevation sandy soils and perfect sun exposure promote levels of ripeness, complexity, structure, and depth that few Barbera reds can achieve, even within most of Asti. After the difficult 2017 growing season, Piedmont rebounded in a big way in 2018, with a vintage that most regard as one of the most elegant and poised in recent memory. The balanced ripeness and retention of acidity in the red wine grapes that year were exceptional and added a counterpoint to the power and concentration that Nizza reds naturally achieve. This is truly is a rare breed of Barbera that’s difficult to get your hands on in general, let alone for a price as exceptional as this, and with less than 500 cases available you’ll want to move quickly, folks.
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