Barbera

I believe these grapes came from California.  Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries and some char.  Light tannins.  A nice backbone of acidity.  On the palate, nice cherry fruit.  This wine is nice on its own but really works better with food.  A bit more fruit forward than say, an Italian Barbera, but certainly not a fruit bomb.  Drink over the next three to five years.

Barbera is an interesting grape and the wines produced from it cover a wide range of styles and price points.  This is at the lower end of the price range, but  the wine easily has the quality of wines three or four times as expensive.  Garnet in color, clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, black cherries and slight dust.  Medium bodied.  Strong acidity.  Light tannins.  On the palate, black cherry fruit with great acidity.  Nice finish.  This wine demands food.  All of the classic "Italian Night" foods such as pizza, spaghetti, other pastas, etc.

This is a very interesting wine made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Barbera and aged in stainless steel from the Emilia Romagna region of Italy.  Deep garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is very nice with cherries, raspberries and char.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, there is a bit of sweetness on the attack.  Firm tannins.  Cassis, black cherries and slight mint notes.  Moderate finish.  This has some depth.  It needs a bit of air to open up.  This will work very well with pasta.  Drink over the next three to five years.  

Everytime I drink a Barbera likes this I think I need to drink more Barbera.  This is outstanding and while this vintage is mostly gone, newer vintages are good and sell for under $40.  Deep garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, black cherries, anise and baking spices.  Medium bodied.  A nice backbone of acidity.  Light tannins.  On the palate, fresh pure black cherry fruit with some spice.  Long finish.  This is made for food and will work great with pasta, mushrooms, and especially pizza.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.  

This is a blend of 67% Barbera and 33% Sangiovese from Sonoma.  A very interesting take on "Italian Red".  Deep garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, black cherries, tree bark, and char.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, nice black cherry fruit with a touch of acidity.  A bit of smoke.  Nice finish.  This worked better with food.  It should be consumed over the next three to five years.   This worked well with pasta in a tomato sauce.  

Always a treat to try one of the most iconic Barbera's made.  And, to get a chance to try one with ten years on it is a real treat.  The wine did not disappoint.  Deep ruby in color.  The nose has cranberries, slight sour cherries and a very interesting mint note.  This is a big fruit wine (especially for Barbera) with nice cherries and red currants.  There is also a strong backbone of acidity that helps this work so well with food.  Deep and some complexity, it still seems like it could go another decade with no problem.  This can handle the hearties of meat dishes but is lively enough for

Sean Thackrey is one of the world's great winemakers who hangs out in Bolinas California.  This is basically a field blend of what doesn't make his top Cuvees.  Although it is non-vintage, each Cuvee carries a Roman Numeral designate.  This is XI, but the current release is XXV.  This wine is approximately 16 years old and was really made to be drunk in the first few years.  Sometime, however, wines hide in the cellar only to provide a pleasant surprise later on.  It was originally claimed to be a blend of Syrah, Petite Syrah, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Carignan, and Barbera, however, DNA testi

Deep ruby in color with some purple swirls.  The nose is dusty with black cherries.  On the palate, this is slightly bitter with bracing acidity.  Some cherry fruit.  slight to medium tannins.  Finishes with sour cherries.  This wine really demands food but should work with a wide variety.  At $20, it is fairly priced.