Tried these four over the last 4 days:
1. Scarpa Barbera d'Asti (13.5%; Portovino/Buffalo/NY) 2014: Very dark color w/ little bricking; very strong very spicy/Barbera/dried Italian herbs/pizza spices light pencilly/oak rather dusty/OV very aromatic/perfumed quite complex beautifully spicy nose; fairly tart/tangy/metallic very spicy/Barbera/Italian sausage/pizza spices rather dusty/OV/bit earthy fairly rich/mouthfilling bit lean/hard light pencilly/oak some complex flavor w/ modest bitey tannins; very long/lingering very spicy strong Italian dried herbs/Barbera/Italian sausage rather dusty/OV fairly complex finish w/ modest bitey tannins; still has another 4-8 yrs before then tannins & acids soften; showing some maturity & one of the better Piemonte Barberas I can recall; shows more youth & stronger Barbera fruit & more intense spiciness than the IBricchi. $17.00 (CB)
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2. Scarpa I Bricchi DOCG: Barbera d'Asti (Btl#04278 of 14,650; Imprtd: PortoVino/Buffalo; www.ScarpaWine.com) Nizza Monferrato 2013: Very dark color w/ no bricking; rather earthy/dusty/OV slightly funky much more subtle/less perfumed some pencilly/oak rather spicy/Barbera/dried Italian herbs/bit fennel/licorice fairly aromatic quite complex beautiful nose; less tart rather tangy/metallic more subtle Barbera/pizza spices/dried Italian herbs quite rich/some lush very spicy/fennel/Barbera/pizza spices/dried Italian herbs light pencilly/oak quite complex flavor w/ modest/smooth tannins; very long/lingering very spicy/Barbera/Italian sausage/dried herbs some dusty/OV fairly rich some tart/tangy complex finish w/ some smooth tannins; not as intense Barbera fruit but more complexity and smoother on the palate; a beautiful expression of Barbera. $44.00 (BWM)
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3. Scarpa Rouchet DOC: Monferrato Rosso (13%) 2014: Med.light color; lovely very aromatic strawberry/floral/cherry blossom/quite spicy almost MalvasiaNera-like slight earthy/dusty/OV slight volatile rather complex/multidimensional beautiful perfumed nose; bit soft slight metallic/tangy very floral/alpine strawberries/cherry blossom bit dusty/OV almost MalvasiaNera-like bit complex flavor w/ light tangy tannins; very long/lingering rather floral/alpine strawberry/cherry blossom/perfumed bit drying/tangy/metallic some dusty/OV bit complex finish w/ light drying tannins; a really beautiful aromatic alpine strawberry almost MalvasiaNera-like wine but strarting to dry out a bit on the palate and probably on the downside. $41.00 (Cured)
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4. Scarpa LaSelva di Moirano (14%; Btl#1171; 100% Brachetto/Dry) 2016: Med.bit light color; rather earthy/dusty/bit mushroomy/truffle slight floral/Nebb-like/lilacs bit strawberry/dried rose petal slight pungentsome complex nose; quite tart/tangy rather earthy/dusty/OV some floral/strawberries/Nebb-like/lilacs some dried rose petal some complex flavor w/ light drying tannins; very long rather earthy/dusty/OV lightly floral/strawberry/dried rose petal some pungent/tarry/old Nebb-like/lilacs bit tired/dried out finish w/ light drying tannins; not a lot of floral Brachetto character and more like an older Langhe Nebbiolo but quite an interesting wine, probably on its downside. $30.00 (BWM)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Back in the late '70's, DarrellCorti was the first one to import the Scarpa wines. I worked thru the entire lineup that he brought in & was mightly impressed. Moreover, they included the wines from Freisa, Rouchet, & Brachetto; varieties I'd never heard of before. I immediately fell in love w/ those varieties because of the perfume & fragrance they showed. But the Barberas, and the Barolo/Barbaresco were also very impressive. I became a lifelong fan of the Scarpa wines.
Alas, I don't often come across the Scarpa wines & Darrell doesn't bring in the breadth of their wines that he once did. Three of these Scarpas were ones I found on a trip up to Boulder over a yr ago. So it was a real pleasure to revisit Scarpa. I also see that they now make a Timorasso. I would love to try it, but probably never see one out in the free-range. I also see they make a Pelaverga, another Unicorn wine I'd love to try.
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2. Barbera: I first fell in love with this variety from some of the old LouisMartinis I had from their MonteRossoVnyd. Louis gave them lots of age in the large oak & redwood ovals he had. And he would give them prolonged age afore he released them.
And then along came CaryGott, who started making world-class Barbera in the ShenandoahVlly. One Italian Piemonte winemaker who was visiting Darrel & was shown a Montevina Barbera, declared it the best Barbera he had ever tasted. The ShenandoahVlly has sorta adopted Barbera as their signature grape, probably because it maintains a good acidity. But I'm not convinced that it doesn't do as well in other regions of Calif. The Idlewild is one of my particular favorites as well.
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3. DickCooper: I saw a few days ago on DeniseEsola's Facebook page that Dick had recently died. He (and Cary) were responsible for making Barbera the signature grape (sorta) of the ShenandoahVlly. He originally, at Darrell's behest, one of the early Barbera growers in the Vlly. He helped found the Barbera Festival they hold up there every year...something I'd love to attend sometime. The ShenandoahVlly lost a real hero w/ Dick's death.
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4. In the town of Plymouth, there used to be a butcher by the name of John Lasich. His Italian sausages were some of the best I've ever had and the ideal compliment to go with Montevina Barbera. In fact, when BenZeitman once visited us in LosAlamos, I made it clear that the price of admission to taste with our group was a batch of JohnLasich sausages, which he duly carried in his luggage. He related that his clothes had this wonderful perfume to them for weeks afterwards and it would always make him hungry when he donned one of those shirts.
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5. Rouchet/Ruche: Mostly used in the making of Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato. The origins of the grape are usually attributed to being indigenous from around Asti, but there is some speculation that it originated in the Burgundy region & was brought to the Piemonte.
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6. Brachetto: A variety not often vinified dry. It is most commonly found in Brachetto d'Acqui. It is also grown in the Roero, where it is labeled as Birbet. They are usually made as a frizzante/frothy slightly sweet low alcohol red & can be delightful drinking. The DNA parentage of Brache tto is not been done.
Brachetto was the wine Marc Antony and Julius Caesar presented to Cleopatra in their attempts to win her favor. The queen, so the story goes, found the wine unleashed her passions. Alas, I've never seemed to get that to work for me!! Probably because my clothes reek of Italian sausage!!
Tom