Full Body, Dry (Barbera). DOC Oltrepo Pavese Barbera. Alc 15.5%.
A great example of a classic Italian wine (one of Italy's most widely planted and most important red grapes), perfect with hearty dishes.
Silver medal at Wow The Italian Wine Competition.
WINERY TASTING NOTES: Impenetrable ruby red. Evokes aromas of freshly picked blackberries, blueberry juice, then rose, violet, cassis, licorice and myrtle. Warm and rather soft to approach, it has a fleshy texture and invigorating tannic texture that give it a perfect symmetry; the finish is intense and echoing.
From the winery:
"The La Maga vineyard gifts us a prime selection of fruity grapes with deep ruby red colour and notes of cherry, plum, berries and spices.
The typically vibrant Barbera flavours are matched by a balance of surprising softness
and sophisticated tannins.
Oltrepò Pavese DOC; 100% Barbera; Macerated for 18 days, aged for at least 12 months in small casks."
LEARN MORE: Follow this link to a podcast by Wine For Normal People that's useful for understanding more about the grape BARBERA!
MEET THE WINERY: Click here to read more background on this family-run estate.
Finally, an excerpt from an article by Walter Speller for JancisRobinson.com, written in summer 2021, says "I have rarely come across an interesting sparkling wine from [Lombardy's Oltrepò Pavese area] ... and when I did I filed the experience under 'exception proving the rule'. Therefore I was quite thrown off balance when I tasted the metodo classico wines from Castello di Cigognola ... Owned by Moratti, a family of entrepreneurs, the team at the property have set themselves the lofty goal of challenging not Franciacorta but Champagne. Their secret weapon is north-facing, mature vineyards of Pinot Noir at elevations of at least 350 m (1,150 ft). Fully ripe grapes are what they are after, something which Oltrepò Pavese routinely delivers year after year, making adding sugar at any stage of the winemaking process unnecessary. The Morattis have taken on board star oenologist Federico Staderini, who among others is responsible for the Poggio di Sotto Brunellos that are extremely elegant even though they are grown in one of Montalcino's warmer areas. And that seems to be the Staderini signature: Oltrepò Pavese can be very warm, but the first releases of Castello di Cigognola do not reflect this in the least. What they show, dare I say it, is that Oltrepò Pavese can be a very good place to produce top Pinot Noirs and not just in sparkling form."