Barbera del Monferrato Superiore DOCG: the time of ripening

The area of the name includes several municipalities Asti and Alessandria. Choose the Monferrato Casalese as an initial itinerary allows to explore a recognizable trait, without exhausting its geography. Here. Rosignano Monferrato, Cella Monte and Vignale Monferrato link the wine story to countries collected on the reliefs.

The roads between the villages give an opportunity to observe the alternation of crops and the layout of vineyards. The visit can proceed for points of view: first the old town, then the village looked from a nearby side. This movement helps to bring together architecture and countryside. The bottle becomes a trace to know the territory that supports it, beyond the moment of tasting.

The choice of a bottle can be accompanied by the story of its vintage and vineyard origin. They are elements that add concreteness to the tasting: wine enters the time of the campaign, marked by the work of the season and the decisions taken during the winemaking process.

The DOCG award dates back to 2008. The Superior word is part of the name and recalls a production with its own requirements. The discipline includes a path of ageing, with a passage in wood, which distinguishes this wine from Barbera del Monferrato DOC. For the visitor is a useful key: the label tells a choice of maturation in addition to origin.

In the farmhouse landscape, wine conservation finds a parallel account in infernot. The stone dug environments show how important it was to reserve the bottle an adequate space. The visit to Cella Monte allows to approach this material culture. The time of wine is linked also to houses, tools and the ability to transform the matter of the place into an environment of custody.

The Barbera vine is at least 85% of the ampelographic base described in the disciplinary; Freisa, Grignolino and Dolcetto can complete it within the expected limit. This centrality of Barbera gives a stable reference to wine. Aging works on a balance in which freshness, body and aromatic development must find a convincing relationship.

The profile described by the name is that of a dry, quiet and body red, whose color can approach the garnet with evolution. Follow a bottle during the meal allows you to appreciate how the fragrances change and the sensation of the sip. The complexity arises from the whole: the maturation makes wine more articulate when it preserves energy and continuity, leaving the character of grapes recognizable.

A table with meat cooked slowly, stuffed pasta and tasty cheeses allows you to explore several meetings with this Barbera. The richness of the preparation can highlight the freshness of wine, while a more delicate dish leaves greater room for perfumes. Choosing a meal to share makes tasting an extensive experience, in which the cup evolves together with the conversation.

After Rosignano and Vignale, a stop at Cella Monte completes the connection with stone and its infernot. To expand the comparison you can switch to Barbera del Monferrato DOC and the Barbera d’Asti. Three nearby names show different perspectives on the same vine. The journey thus finds continuity between the landscape encountered, the reading of the label and the choices of the producer.