Marco Pontarelli Barbera 2018
Marco Pontarelli Barbera 2018 is a wonderful handcrafted Barbera grape wine from Piemonte. It’s produced by Botter S.P.A. a producer that we have worked with on a number of great wines over the past few years. Botter has been crafting wines since 1928 and now have a wine portfolio of great quality but pocket-friendly wines. The facts speak for themselves – Botter has averaged 4 shipping containers of wine, every single week to the USA since 2007.
This is the 2017 vintage of a highly respected Barbera varietal from Piemonte. 2016 was better received generally, but it’s also 4 times the price. We’ve tried them both, we know where we would be spending our money.
Region: DOC Piemonte
Grape Type: Barbera
ABV: 12.5%
Soil: The vines are grown with Guyot system on hills with favourable inclines and terrains that are prevalently calcareous-clayey and alternating with layers of whitish marl.
Weather conditions: With Piedmont being surrounded on three sides by the Alps, it has interesting geography that influences the weather and climate. The geography of Piedmont is 43.3% mountainous, along with extensive areas of hills (30.3%) and plains (26.4%).
Piedmont has a humid subtropical climate that is mild with no dry season, constantly moist (year-round rainfall). Summers are hot and muggy with thunderstorms. Winters are mild with precipitation from mid-latitude cyclones. Seasonality is moderate.
Winemaking / Ageing: Marco Pontarelli Barbera 2017 is made from grapes that are collected exclusively by hand and then brought to the cellar for de-stalking and soft pressing. The grapes undergo fermentation at a controlled temperature in stainless steel tanks at 28 degrees C. Maceration finishes at the end of the alcoholic fermentation.
Wine is racked when it is almost completely dry to enhance its peculiar fruity taste. The fermentation is completed slowly and at much lower temperatures. Marco Pontarelli Barbera 2018 is then further aged for 12 months in oak barrels. This wine, despite being a 2018 vintage, was bottled in January 2019.
Tasting: THIS WINE MUST BE DECANTED for at least 30 minutes (1 hour if time permits) to allow it to develop its intense aromas of red fruits heightened by spicier scents, A well-balanced taste with very good length.
Food Pairing: This is a highly versatile wine. It’s a great bottle to share socially with friends in a relaxing environment. As a food pairing, this is an obvious match for most Mediterranean food dishes. For Chinese food, look to pair this with most meals that have red meat. This wine will not pair well with fish or dishes that have a lot of chilies.
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