Barbera 2016 NZ

Tasting notes

Bright crimson hue with slight ‘brick’ tones. A “see-through” intensity, similar to Pinot Noir. Intense ‘bramble’ nose with secondary complexities of leather, tar and liquorice.

On the palate, rich fruit accompanied by a seam of acidity which sits above the tannins to provide the ‘sour-cherry’ effect. Minimal oak impact here. The tannins are soft in the attack and finish typically ‘ragged’ – we often describe the tannins in the finish as ‘tobacco-like’.

Style notes

• A Northern Italy (Piedmont) variety, this is a low-acid, low-tannin clone of Barbera supposedly more suited to the New Zealand climate and soils.
• Our aim with the palate structure is for an almost ‘sour-cherry’ note to provide support and vibrancy to the fruit. It is very tricky to handle in the winery and is particularly sensitive, especially to oxidation and colour-loss, so we use very gentle handling techniques in the winery. From the time it is pressed off skins, it is pretty much treated as though it is a white wine. we intentionally leave the finish tannins natural and slightly ‘ragged’ as a more natural expression of the variety.
• Aged for 16 – 18 months in French barriques, but no new oak.
• Un-fined and unfiltered.
• Estate bottled and hand-labelled, individually hand-numbered, very small production – 947 bottles produced.