Ok, who buys 10-year old Barbera, a magnum no less, for the princely sum of $136? Crazy Joe, of course! (Thanks Barry)Not sure what I was going to get when I opened this, but the 1998 Coppo Barbera D'Asti "Pomorosso" was NOT what I had expected. Complex and interesting on the nose - new leather, smokey white pepper, and spicy oak, vanilla and tobacco, green nuts and black cherries. But astonishingly fresh on the palate and showing no signs of age, with light, bing cherry fruit, copious acidity, and palate-pleasing tea bag tannins. Extremely well balanced, this terrific wine softened and opened up over the evening, and the fine acidity sliced through a meaty bison steak - that amazing acidity and ample fruit and tannin point to more time in the cellar (for the magnum).
cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 18/20
Price: C$136 (SAQ)
Overall, I never expected this to age so well, pair so well with bison, or have such a nice acidic backbone (keep tasting, keep tasting, keep tasting...)
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7 comments:
Although I am not familiar with this wine in particular, aged Barbera is one of the most overlooked wines in existence. I'm jealous
Hi Jesse - I never thought of Barbera as age-able, so your comments are appreciated. Great site, by the way. I hope to be in NYC frequently - I will drop by your shop on my next trip, at which point I hope you will point out some age-able Barbera. Cheers!
Joe,
If I'm reading your notes correctly, you purchased this recently as opposed to pulling it out after eight years in the cellar. Correct? If so, was it a library release from the producer? Just curious.
Hi David - I bought this in February of 2006, so it already had some age on it. I am guessing it was a library release, as the SAQ is not prone to keeping things in stock for so long. No way to confirm that, but SAQ does not sit on things - they would have marked it down years ago if it was sitting. None left, unfortunately - I would buy another if I could find it, even at that price...
souns like quite a bottle in many ways! I enjoy Barbera quite a bit, especially with pasta, but it's usually a moderately priced one.
Hi David - I thought with a big rating from the usual suspects it would be a fruit bomb, but it was so far from it. Interesting you mentioned the pasta - I had a sangiovese vs. barbera vs. lasagna tasting earlier this year, and Chianti won hands down. But that was a fruitier Barbera - I wonder if it had been this Coppo, would the Chianti have been the winner? hmmm
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