La Spinetta Bionzo Barbera d'Asti 2005
Barbera can be really lovely: tangy and savoury and deliciously acidic. But most examples we have seen here have been of the "super-Barbera" variety which was intended as a more serious wine. Serious, sadly, generally means that oak and extraction have been pushed up and that elegance, varietal expression and, most crucially, drinkability have been obliterated.
Barbera is generally considered a relatively early-drinking grape variety so I was interested in trying an example of the super-Barbera -style with a bit of bottle age. Had it morphed into something interesting? Had the oak integrated and the extraction lessened? Had the varietal aromatics breached the oak-sea? Had it become drinkable?
No, no, no and no.
This was kind of a sucky wine.
