The years when Giorgio Gaber, in ‘Barbera e Champagne’, associated the two wines with two different social classes seem long gone: unemployed people drank Barbera, while managers ordered Champagne. Both desperate for love, the only thing dividing the two was social class, masterfully represented by the glass in their hands, a glass that would make them even more similar today.
Today, the best Barbera is an elegant wine capable of giving great emotions, and our Selezioni di Barbera are proof of this.
Their names? Vigne Vecchie 50°, Laudana, Vigne Vecchie and Sei Vigne Insynthesis.
Bottles in which the original and characteristic acidity is toned down, without vanishing, through skilful ageing in wood and – perhaps a little provocatively – also in steel. They are the fruit of strict selections in the vineyard and meticulous care in the cellar, which have led to wines of great longevity and complexity, capable of narrating the excellence of a territory whilst maintaining the typicality of Barbera.
What does ‘the best Barberas’ mean? The selection for quality
If ‘Vigne Vecchie Bricco Laudana’ was born from the bricco, recording the highest price of all time at the Barbera d’Asti Auction in 1989, the very careful selection of the six most suitable vineyards has led the Sei Vigne Insynthesis to reach the top of the quality pyramid, classifying it, as of 2019, together with Nizza Riserva DOCG, the highest designation for a Barbera-based wine.
And when, in the most avant-garde Italian wine-growing areas during the 1980s, most thought was given to replanting old vineyards and replacing them with new ones, our Cantina Cooperativa, thanks to a prophetic intuition of oenologist Giuliano Noè, decided to protect the vineyards that were over 50 years old, leading to wines with very special qualities and characteristics. Today, those same vineyards are over 80 years old.
It is these resounding affirmations, as well as all the subsequent recognitions, that encouraged everyone to continue in the pursuit of quality, but it is above all the testimonials we receive every day from experts and wine lovers that make us continue along this path.
Dalla vigna alla cantina
From the vineyard to the cellar
Careful grape maturity analyses have always been carried out in the cellar before the harvest and, especially in recent years when timing has become essential to combat the difficulties caused by the ongoing climate change and the prolonged drought, these analyses, combined with a great knowledge of the terroir, make it possible to create a precise timetable for the harvest period and the delivery of the grapes.
The grapes for these Selezioni di Barbera come, after thinning and careful selection, from vineyards that are up to 50-60 years old, which is why they are harvested manually, using only perforated crates that keep the bunches intact. Harvesting takes place in the early hours of the day, so that the grapes can be delivered to the winery as early as the afternoon, in order to keep the bunches in optimal conditions for the vinification process to begin.
Upon their arrival at the winery, the grapes are analysed according to parameters that reveal their level of quality and indicate to which pressing line they should be sent. We begin with the destemming-crushing of the grapes and the transfer of the must to temperature-controlled horizontal vinifiers.
Alcoholic fermentation with maceration lasts approximately 10 days at an initial constant temperature of 24 °C, gradually rising to 28-29 °C, thus allowing excellent aromas to be obtained, as well as the greatest possible quantity of polyphenolic substances to be extracted from the peels.
Malolactic fermentation is then initiated in stainless steel tanks at a temperature of 18 °C and, once this phase is complete, the wine is refined (in whole or in part) in barriques.
The best Barbera in the glass: discover our selections
Laudana
Laudana is a wine with an intense ruby red colour tending to garnet with age. It has an intense perfume, ethereal, slightly spicy, with a velvety boisé. On the palate it is full-bodied, well-structured, harmonious and rounded, with light and sweet tannins, very persistent.
Sei Vigne Insynthesis
Brilliant, deep ruby red colour with violet reflections, it has a complex bouquet with light toasted notes and spicy red berry fruit. On the palate it is warm, full, with sweet hints of syrup fruit and vanilla, great structure and persistence with light, sweet tannins.
Vigne Vecchie
It is brilliant, ruby red in colour with slight orange reflections, with an intense, ethereal, spicy, slightly boisé bouquet. On the palate it has a good structure, is soft, with light and sweet tannins, very persistent.
Vigne Vecchie 50
This is the result of the desire to have a Barbera ‘as it once was’, in the best sense of the term. It has a ruby red colour with violet hues, is fruity, with hints of ripe fruit, and is dry and savoury on the palate.