Matteo Correggia farms the sandy hills around Canale, in the Roero, on the left bank of the Tanaro. Marun is the estate's Barbera d'Alba Superiore, and the Superiore name is not decoration: the appellation requires a longer ageing before release than a plain Barbera d'Alba, and the wine has to reach a minimum alcohol, which this one clears comfortably at 14.5%.
- Barbera, Piedmont's workhorse red grape.
- Barbera d'Alba DOC, from the Roero side of the Tanaro.
- 2018, a generous, warm vintage in Piedmont.
- Superiore: longer ageing, higher minimum alcohol.
- Dry, medium body, high acidity, medium tannin.
How it is made
Barbera is a grape that gives colour and acid easily and tannin reluctantly, which is why it has been the everyday red of Piedmont for centuries while Nebbiolo took the glory. The Superiore designation exists to push it further: the rules demand more time in the cellar and a stronger wine than the base Barbera d'Alba.
How it tastes
Black cherry and plum, with violet over the top and a lift of baking spice. The tannins are firm but fine, and the acidity is high, the trait Barbera never loses. It is dry and medium in body, and the 14.5% is carried rather than felt.
Where it comes from
The Roero sits north of Alba, across the Tanaro from the Barolo and Barbaresco hills. Its soils are sandier and its slopes softer than the Langhe's, and Barbera has long been the grape that thrives there.
Good to know
Barbera was once planted so widely in Piedmont that it was simply called the wine of the people, drunk young and by the jug. The Superiore category was created to separate the serious, ageworthy versions from that everyday bottling.
