Indigenous 2014 Piemonte Barbera ($17.99)

This 100% Barbera is a dark reddish-purple wine, shading to a clear edge. Appealing red fruit aromas lift from the glass, offering mixed-berry notes and a whiff of something like strawberry liqueur. It’s flavor is full of ripe cherry-berry fruit, framed with fresh, mouth-watering acidity and soft but perceptible tannins. Although the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in oak and spends a year in French oak barrels, there’s nothing manipulated or industrial about its flavor, which is pleasantly rustic and comes across as a versatile table wine that carries its 14% alcohol well. U.S. importer: Indigenous Selections LLC, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; selected by Giorgio Rivetti. (April 9, 2020)

FOOD MATCH: You can’t go wrong with rare red meat alongside this fruity, acidic red. It should be fine with darker poultry – duck, goose, or turkey dark meat – and cheese dishes, too, not to mention the stereotypical pairing with tomato-sauced pizza or pasta.

WHEN TO DRINK: This 2014 vintage is drinking beautifully now, and I’m sure it will remain good for a few more years, assuming cool-temperature storage lying on its side. The Diam technical cork provides reassurance against cork taint.

VALUE:
It was a particular value at my local $18 price, but it’s well worth Wine-Searcher.com’s $23 average U.S. retail.

WEB LINK
This link offers an overview of Indigenous Selecctions. Then click here for a brief fact sheet on the Piemonte Barbera.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and find vendors for Indigenous Selections Piemonte Barbera on Wine-Searcher.com.

Follow this Wine-Searcher link to read more about Barbera del Monferrato and find listings for dozens more examples of these good red wines.

TALK ABOUT BARBERA:
Join this month’s Wine Focus conversation, The rest of Piemonte, in our WineLovers Discussion Group.