Barbera

The name alone conjures up images: La Luna e i Falò – "The moon and the fires". An allusion to Cesare Pavese's novel of the same name, a reflection of a deep-rooted love of one's homeland, melancholic and powerful at the same time. And so is this Barbera from the heart of the Nizza region – deep in the Monferrato – is not just a pleasant wine, but an expression of inner density and grown identity. The grapes come from old vineyards around Agliano Terme, with poor, calcareous soils and optimal south to south-west exposure. After a long maceration period, the wine is aged for 18 months in French barriques, followed by further maturation in the bottle. A Riserva with format, precision and the necessary breath.

Named after Giuseppe Massolino, the charismatic uncle and long-time ambassador of the winery, Gisep is the majestic interpretation of a grape variety that matures to unimagined depth here. The grapes come from high-altitude, old vineyards in Serralunga d'Alba, whose calcareous and clayey soils give the Barbera natural vigour and firm structure. The 2022 vintage, characterised by a warm summer with cooling September nights, produced grapes of exceptional physiological ripeness. The ageing in large oak barrels ensures harmonious tannins and a deep, persistent flavour.

In 1969, five years after the first Barolos and Barbarescos – , Bruno Giacosa bottled a Barbera for the first time. Not as a by-product, not as a clearance item, but as a statement in its own right: that Barbera, the everyday grape variety of the Langhe, is capable of more than its reputation suggests when treated with the right care. Today, this wine is one of the estate’s longest-standing labels. The grapes come from trusted vineyards in Neive and Alba – 30 to 38-year-old vines, facing south-west, from farmers with whom the estate has been working for decades. The vinification is rigorous and demonstrates just how seriously Giacosa takes this wine: 20 days of maceration in steel, full malolactic fermentation, followed by 14 months’ ageing in wood. For a Barbera d’Alba DOC, this is exceptional. The result is a wine that takes the grape variety far beyond its usual accessibility.

From the historic Mosconi cru hillside in Monforte d'Alba: Fides is Pio Cesare's clear commitment to the Barbera grape – for years from a singular parcel, with the strictest yield limits and tiny production. Hand-picked, followed by fermentation in stainless steel with around 30 days of maceration; malolactic fermentation takes place gently in tanks. Ageing: around 20 months in large oak barrels (botti), a small proportion in French barriques – enough to anchor depth and texture without masking the origin.

In a prime plot south of the legendary Bricco Boschis lies the Cavallottos' hidden gem: Vigna Cuculo. Here, where normally only Nebbiolo is supposed to thrive, brothers Giuseppe and Alfio have achieved an oenological miracle – a Barbera cru that combines its Piedmontese soul with the aristocratic elegance of its great Barolo neighbours. The name "Cuculo" – the cuckoo – could not be more poetic for this wine, which holds its own like a stranger in royal territory whilst developing its very own identity. The plot benefits from the unique microclimate of Bricco Boschis, that geological treasure where different soils converge in a symphony of limestone, marl and sand layers. This complexity of soil imparts a minerality and structure to the Barbera grape that goes far beyond what is normally expected of this variety. A west-south-west aspect and the calcareous-clay soils create ideal conditions for a wine of exceptional depth.

Bionzo is a hamlet near Costigliole d'Asti, around 15 kilometres south-east of Alba – not a famous name, not a long headline. But here, on five hectares of calcareous clay and marl soils with a southern exposure, 250 metres above sea level, are Barbera vines that have been rooting through the same soil for more than six decades. La Spinetta has been vinifying one of the most characterful representatives of this denomination since 1998. Giorgio Rivetta's conviction that 90 per cent of the quality comes from the vineyard is evident here: no herbicides, no artificial fertilisers, horses instead of tractors to keep the soil alive. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled tanks for 14 to 15 days, malolactic fermentation and subsequent ageing take place in French oak barrels – 20 per cent new, the rest second fermentation. Then bottle ageing. Certified organic.

Aldo Conterno was an exception among the Piedmontese Barolo producers – one of the few who gave Barbera the attention it deserved. While his colleagues dismissed the variety as an everyday wine, Conterno recognised its potential. The Conca Tre Pile is a steep, hilly slope in the Bussia Soprana, planted entirely with Barbera – vines up to 45 years old, rooted in the legendary terroir that usually produces the great Barolo. This is no ordinary Barbera. This is Barbera on a par with the greats. The grapes are harvested by hand at the beginning of October. After eight to ten days of maceration at 26 to 28 degrees in stainless steel tanks, the wine is racked, pumped over several times and then filled into 100 per cent new French barriques, where it matures for twelve months. An unusual amount of wood for Barbera – but it works for Conterno. The natural acidity of the variety absorbs the wood, integrates the vanilla and spice flavours and transforms them into complexity rather than dominance.

A wine with character and a distinct identity: the grapes come from the renowned Scarrone vineyard, situated directly below Castiglione Falletto – a warm south-east-facing slope with calcareous marl soils. Vietti cultivates the vineyard according to organic principles (uncertified) and vinifies the Vigna Scarrone with respect for the grape variety and terroir. Temperature-controlled maceration is followed by ageing in large casks and used barriques.

Vigneto Gallina is a parcel with iconic status and is located in the core area of the famous Barbaresco Gallina vineyard, north of Neive. Vines with an average age of around 55 years are rooted on south-facing slopes with calcareous marl and sandy inclusions – an expression of terroir, history and origin, carried in every drop.

In 1220, the name "Bauda" appears for the first time in a document defining the boundaries of neighbouring estates, as the ancient name of the family to whom the land had belonged for centuries. In 1891, the tenor Giovanni Battista De Negri purchased the estate, using it as a summer residence and artists' salon, and named it Villa De Negri; however, the old name, Olim Bauda, remained on the gate. After 1919, the two parts, Bauda and Bauda Bassa, were sold separately. In 1961, Agostino Bertolino acquired the manor house. Following his untimely death in 1987, production ceased until 1998, when his children Dino, Diana and Gianni took over; in 2009, the Bertolinos reunited the two parts. The wine is made entirely from Barbera grapes and comes from the best rows of the vineyard in Incisa Scapaccino, which has been in the family since 1961. The soils are clay-sandy marl with limestone, formed in the sea; shell fragments can still be found amongst the vines. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled wooden vats, after which the wine matures for around three years in 25-hectolitre French oak barrels.

Falletto in Serralunga d'Alba is a natural amphitheatre – that compact, concentrated hillside that gives Serralunga its distinctive power. Calcareous soils, south-west to west-facing slopes, a minerality that is audible in every wine from this site. Normally, this is Nebbiolo country. Barolo country. At Giacosa, Barbera also grows here. The difference from the purchased Giacosa Barbera begins in the soil and continues in the cellar: after fermentation in steel – as with the Casa Vinicola wine – , the Falletto Barbera leaves the tank and is transferred to large oak botti for 14 months. The same vessels, the same care as for the house’s Barolos and Barbareschi. No new wood, just the slow oxygenation provided by large, neutral barrels, which gives the wine depth and integration without shaping it.

A rare and very limited-production wine that is more than just a Barbera: it is a living monument. The vines come from a tiny plot in the hamlet of Berri near La Morra, which was planted before the phylloxera epidemic (prefilossera) and survived it – ungrafted, without rootstock, a rare treasure that is now almost unique in Italy. The sandy-limestone soils and the southerly aspect give these grapes an intensity and clarity that is unmatched by any younger vineyard.

Some wines are not created out of planning, but out of respect for what old vines can give. In Neive, where the Pola family has run the Fontanabianca winery since 1969, there is a plot of Barbera vines that have taken root in the limestone and clay soils for half a century. From these old vines – uncompromisingly selected and only vinified in exceptional vintages – brunet is the result: a Barbera wine of such concentration and structure that it redefines the conventional notions of this grape variety. The limited production is bottled exclusively in magnums, a format that gives the wine the space to develop that its density and complexity demand.

A Barbera with a mysterious appearance – as if one were gazing into a dark, purplish-red abyss from which concentrated essences rise. Scarrone Vigna Vecchia comes from vines that are decades old – some planted around 1918 – in the Scarrone vineyard near Castiglione Falletto. In the cellar, spontaneous fermentation takes place in stainless steel, followed by around 16 months' ageing in predominantly French barriques, where the judicious use of oak subtly enhances the terroir.

Vinified from selected, south to south-west-facing plots in the heart of the Langhe, this Barbera exemplifies Sandrone's understanding of balance between varietal expression and elegance. The 2022 vintage, characterised by warm, dry summer months and cool nights, yielded fully ripe harvestwith concentrated aromas and fresh acidity. The short maturation in used wooden barrels rounds off the texture without overpowering the varietal freshness.

When Luciano Sandrone bought his first vineyard in Cannubi Boschis in 1977 – financed with all his savings – and vinified the first bottle in his parents' garage a year later, nobody could have guessed that this humble beginning would grow into one of Barolo's most iconic wineries. After his death in 2024, daughter Barbara, brother Luca as Oenologist and wife Mariuccia continue the legacy today: 27 hectares between Langa and Roero, six wines of uncompromising quality that combine tradition and modernity in equal measure. The Barbera d'Alba, vinified from grapes from various plots in Monforte d'Alba and Novello, is more than just an accompanying wine – it is a statement that Sandrone devotes the same attention to each grape variety as he does to his legendary Barolo.

The Bricco della Bigotta comes from the single vineyard of the same name and owes its name to a former resident whose strict piety became proverbial in the village. The old vines stand on a hill not far from Rocchetta Tanaro, in soils of limestone, marl and clay, which give the variety a distinctive structure. The 2020 vintage was characterised by a balanced vegetation cycle: mild spring days, a warm summer without extreme heat and cool nights in late summer, which gave the grapes freshness and aromatic depth. After selective manual harvesting, a long maceration followed by 12 months of ageing in French barriques.

The wine comes from a single, gently sloping vineyard above Rocchetta Tanaro, known as Bricco dell'Uccellone, a name derived from an elderly local woman who, always dressed in black and with a keen eye, kept a watchful eye on the vineyards. Here, old vines grow on barren, chalky soils that yield low harvests but produce highly concentrated harvest. With tireless dedication, the Bologna family carries on the legacy of Giacomo Bologna, who is rightly regarded as the father of modern Barbera d'Asti. Hand-harvested, followed by a long maceration and 12 months' ageing in French barriques.