Barbera Wine Tasting Notes

1997 Montevina Amador County Barbera Score: 87.0 "An angular, full-bodied, earthy wine with intense plummy fruit and potting soil aromas, silky texture, moderate tannin and a spicy finish. " 1995 Louis M. Martini Lake County Barbera Score: 87.0 "A blend of Barbera and Petite Sirah, heres a wine with a rich plummy nose, tart cherry fruit on the palate, and accents of sandalwood and nutmeg. Excellent value." 1998 Pepi North Coast Barbera Score: 87.0 "Nutmeg, allspice, plum and cherry nose, full-bodied with canied plum mlavors, moderate tannin, and a long spicy finish. Forceful, angular, a big wine with some stuffing. Drink now or age another 5 years." 1998 La Pantera California Barbera Score: 88.0 "Understated and elegant, this is a very different style f rom its predecessor, less voluptuous but more refined, with typical plum and cherry fruit and soft tannin, backed by sandlewood, allspice, and some earthy notes. Like the '97, this is alsoblended with a little Nebbiolo" 1997 La Pantera California Barbera Score: 88.0 "Barbera with a little Nebbiolo blended in, this is a full-bodied wine with rich sweet plummy fruit and notes of licorice. Big and boisterous, it makes an impression, but lacks grace. our consumer tasting panel prefered the '97 to the '98, while I prefered the more elegant '98." 1996 Sebastiani Sonoma Cask Sonoma County Barbera Score: 89.0 "A Barbera made in the style of an old field blend, incorporating a little Mourvedre, Petite Syrah, Old Vines Zinfandel, Carignane and Grenache. With a core of fresh cherry and cranberry fruit, back by licorice, sweet spice and cedar notes, this is an easy wine to pair with dinner. Its crisp acidity and firm well-integrated tannin makes it enjoyable now, though it is capable of aging a few years." 1996 Montevina Terra dOro Amador County Barbera Score: 91.0 "This is a glorious Barbera with an ever expanding nose of tart cherry, cardamom and dried flowers that follows through the palate, which displays light body, perfectly integrated tannin, and a fresh tart fruit and spice finish that lingers for minutes." 1997 La Famiglia di Robert Mondavi California Barbera Score: 91.0 "Its a mystery to me why this grape is so underappreciated, when there are wines such as this one on the market. The blackberry-black plum fruit is bright and focused, with fine aromatics, light tannin, nutmeg and cardamom notes on the palate, and an incredible finish." 1997 Seghesio Mendocino County Barbera Score: 97.0 For years Ive been a preacher to the deaf. While they've been focused on Cabernet and Merlot, Ive been trying to extoll the virtues of the worlds most underrated red wine-Barbera. This example is one of the best ever. Irresitible plum and cherry fruit, soft texture, yet spicy on the palate and through the finish. Juicy, fruity, spicy heaven. This is wine as it should be. Marssolino Vigneto Margheria Barbera DAlba Score: 96.0 "Intense and complex, medium body, silky texture, and quite spicy but with a floral aspect that I usually dont associate with Barbera. Leather and roasted meat notes combine with plum, light tannin. It maintains a high level of intensity from nose to the palate, then fades slowly over several minutes. " 1997 California Shenandoah Vineyards Amador County Barbera Score: 93.0 "For sheer enjoyment nothing beats Barbera, and this one is enhanced by 10% Zinfandel. A huge wine with full body and incredible depth. So ripe the plummy fruit (with mint chocolate notes) seems sweet. 14.9% alcohol makes it more appropriate for the cheese course than for the dinner. " 1997 Boeger Vineyard Select El Dorado Barbera Score: 84.0 "Like its stablemate, this Barbera is unusually hot. Nevertheless, it does possess rich plummy fruit with a bit of spice. Good with barbecued beef." 1997 Boeger El Dorado Barbera Score: 84.0 "Big, rich, chocolatey, smokey, smooth on the mid-palate, though hot in the finish. Pizza and full-flavored cheeses would suit this wine to a T."

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