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Wine Details
Price:
$17.99 per bottle
Description:
The 2002 Barbera is a vibrant wine. The color is bright red with lavender hues and with moderate depth. The bouquet of the wine is classically varietal focusing on dried rose petals, intense plums, and raspberry/sour cherry fruit. There is a complimenting cream caramel flavor from the oak. In the mouth, the flavors mimic the aroma, and the finish is fleeting and lively, again, very typical for this Italian varietal. This wine is ideal with rich tomato based food.
The grapes were grown in a vineyard on the northeast side of Lodi in deep rich Lodi loam soil. The vines were only lightly irrigated, and the yields were minimal to ensure that the flavors and tannins were concentrated in the fruit. Once harvested, the grapes were fermented, brought through extended maceration, pressed, and barrel aged for 14 months in French Seguin Moreau and Tonnellerie Saury barrels (66%) and Americal Radoux barrels (33 %). The final blend consists of 97% barbera, 2% carignange , and small amounts of zinfandel, petite sirah, and syrah
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Varietal Definition
Barbera:
A red-wine grape of Italian origin that produces sturdy, tannic wines capable of aging. Barbera is widely planted in Italy’s Piedmont region, where it accounts for half the total acreage. Most California Barbera is grown in the Central Valley and finds its way into generic or proprietary blends. The Sierra Foothills, Paso Robles, Santa Clara and Sonoma, where very warm days are moderated by cool nights, produce some of the state’s best varietal Barberas. The fruit is naturally high in acid, which it retains very well, even in hot climates. Barbera grapes are also high in anthocyanins, but only low to moderate in tannin content. The resulting wines are deep, purplish black in their youth, but tend to early browning and lightening as they age. Tannin from oak aging can help somewhat to stabilize color.
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Petite Sirah:
Petite Sirah is the same as the French variety known as Durif, a cross of Peloursin, with the true Syrah. A French nurseryman, Dr. François Durif, propagated the grape trying for resistance to powdery mildew and named it after himself, in the 1870s. Petite Sirah has long been an important blending grape, prized primarily for its deep color and fairly intense tannin. It is the variety most often chosen to blend into Zinfandel for added color, complexity, body, and to tone down the tendency of Zins toward "jammy" fruit.
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Syrah:
Syrah is the eight hundred pound gorilla of Rhone grapes! In the vineyard and the winery, Syrah is typically an easy grape to work with - healthy, early ripening, resistant to mildew and rot; suitable for winemaking in a variety of styles. The wines from Syrah are tannic without being harsh. The wines will have a taste and smell of dark blue fruit like blackberries and blackcurrant, with a strong spicy side where one can find freshly ground pepper and other spices. Syrah is famous for its part in the French blends, such as Côtes du Rhone and Châteauneuf du Pape.
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Zinfandel:
Zinfandel is a variety of red grape planted in over 10 percent of California wine vineyards. DNA fingerprinting revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kaštelanski, and also the Primitivo variety traditionally grown in the 'heel' of Italy. It is typically made into a robust red wine. Its taste depends on the ripeness of the grapes from which it is made. Red berry fruits like raspberry predominate in wines from cooler areas such as the Napa Valley, whereas blackberry, anise and pepper notes are more common in wines made in warmer areas such as Sonoma County. Many Zinfandels come from head pruned ‘Old Vines’. ‘Old Vine’ is generally understood to mean a vine that is more than 50 years old and that produces less than three tons per acre. ‘Head Pruning’ is an old European style of pruning that trains the vine into the shape of a goblet. It requires no wires or other complex trellis systems. Head pruning spreads the fruit uniformly along the vine and allows light penetration.In the USA a semi-sweet Rosé (blush-style) wine called ‘White Zinfandel’ has achieved widespread popularity. In fact, this popularity has so outstripped all other forms that many fans think there is actually a grape called “White Zinfandel” (there isn’t)!
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