Barbera has grown in the hills around Asti for centuries, and it is the grape that gives Piedmont its everyday red: dark in colour, high in acid, low in the sort of tannin that demands a decade in the cellar. Ricossa bottles it from the 2020 vintage, and the wine is dry, medium in body, and 13.5% alcohol.
- Barbera, Piedmont's own red grape.
- Barbera d'Asti DOCG, from the hills around Asti.
- 2020 vintage, a warm year in Piedmont.
- High acidity, medium tannin, dry.
- Red cherry, plum, violet, an earthy savoury edge.
How it is made
Barbera d'Asti DOCG is a controlled appellation, which means the rules on where the grapes can grow and how the wine is handled are fixed by law, not by fashion. The grape itself is thin-skinned and generous with acid, which is why Barbera holds its brightness even in warm vintages like 2020.
How it tastes
Red cherry and plum lead, with violet over the top and an earthy, savoury note underneath. The acidity is the point: it cuts through the fruit and keeps the wine lean rather than soft. Tannin sits at medium, so the structure is there without grip.
Good to know
Barbera was long treated as the workhorse of Piedmont, the wine growers drank while their Nebbiolo aged. The best sites around Asti and Alba changed that, and Barbera d'Asti was among the first to earn DOCG status, in 2008.
