Pio Cesare Barbera D’Alba 2004

Ah, the Barbera grape. Usually used as a blend to bring acidity to the final product of wines that are too heavy, or have too much sugar. But in the Piedmont region, with a cooler climate to nurture this grape, you find a complete berry ready to be crushed and drunken.

They grow Barbera in other places around the world; but at a higher temperature, they ripen quickly and the alcohol content goes sky high, along with the sweetness. But here, in the greatest growing region in Italy (my humble opinion, of course, lots of people should and do love Tuscany as King), the grapes have the right terroir and weather to make a wine all by itself. What that also means is that this wine will be cheaper than the Barolo‘s and Barbaresco‘s.

Pio Cesare has excellent distribution throughout the east coast. This makes people believe it is in the same class(less) as a Yellow Tail, Clos Du Bois, Woodbridge, etc. But that is not the case. In fact, Pio Cesare has had 4 Top 10 wines in the last 15 years. They just have good penetration in our LCB System. You will find this bottle in the Italian section, not the Import section of your local Wine and Spirits. It will be close to the heavy hitter Barolo’s, which can be upwards of $100. But it rings in at $16.99. No joke.

Its high acidity for such a rich red really allows it to pair well with pasta dishes (shock), but also a nice piece of salmon. It can roll with fattier pieces of meat (prosciutto), but sometimes the tannins in the finish can get hung up and pronounce the fattiness if the sauce being served is heavy as well.

Its nose is the quintissential leather aromas seen in almost all Italian wines, but there’s also a muted chocolate and mint/lavender thing going on in there. So very light in body and mouthfeel, it’s a delight on the tongue with rich dark berry flavors. The finish is actually quite long for a blending grape, and is a nice touch. Very layered and complex for a $17 bottle of wine.

I love this juice. It’s cheap and there’s a lot of it around. Go buy it and make a nice salmon steak or dish of orrichette. Use a red sauce though, not a white.

Collin Flatt is a former Beer Pong champ turned oenophile. Collin Flatt spends his tax refunds on wine. Collin Flatt has his Bachelor’s Degree in drinking and is getting his Master’s Degree in winemaking. Collin Flatt is working on an Arctice Splash Cuvee. Collin Flatt writes about wine for Phoodie.info.