When you think of Piedmont, naturally, the region's King is Barolo, and the Queen is Barbaresco. Both are made from the finicky, powerful, yet so rewarding Nebbiolo grape that brings in the most money per bottle from the region. As such, Nebbiolo is planted in the best soils in Barolo and Barbaresco growing regions. Barolo, in particular, is produced in 11 municipalities in the province of Cuneo in and around the town of Barolo. Three of those Barolo municipalities are in the town of Alba; Diano d’Alba, Serralunga d’Alba and Monforted d’Alba. Alba is known for its hillside vineyards, giving a distinctive taste to the wine. The soil here is made of chalky limestone and is perfect for growing not only Nebbiolo but also Barbera vines. When given a chance, Barbera does well here and produces award-winning wines because the grape loves the chalky, limestone-rich soil. You have to be crazy or very confident in your winemaking skills to plant Barbera in the better parts of Alba instead of the Nebbiolo grape, which tends to yield grapes at a higher price. Meet Ernesto Abbona di Marchesi di Barolo, a confident, highly skilled winemaker and a little crazy.

In 1929, Pietro Abbona, a local winemaker, acquired the Cantine dei Marchesi di Barolo and transformed the estate into a well-organized and efficient winery that could produce tremendous and luxurious wines for the high society served at important diplomatic and royal functions. Today, Marchesi di Barolo remains a family business under the direction of fifth-generation owners Ernesto Abbona and his wife Anna, with their children Valentina and Davide. They have inherited a longstanding winemaking tradition and a love of the vineyards and their wines. Their cellars are in the village of Barolo, overlooking the old Renaissance castle of the Marchesi Falletti di Barolo, who was the original owner. Eventually, the cellar's name was shorted to Marchesi di Barolo. Today they have 430 acres of vineyards in the Langhe, some of the finest in Piedmont, including the prestigious Cannubi Cru.

Around 35 years ago, Periagal vineyard, a CRU vineyard of premium Nebbiolo in front of the Marchesi di Barolo Winery, was ripped up to plant Barbera. A choice was made to prove that terroir is everything and that if the soil chosen is exceptional and the winemaking is excellent, the result is a world-class Barbera with strength and depth of flavors.

Peiragal is an ancient term that refers to hills with a good slope, composed of large formations of clay and limestone soil, very firm, with large stones. These conditions prevent rain from permeating the ground and lead vines to grow very deep roots to search for moisture that rises from the deep layers through capillary action. This produces sparse bunches and, therefore, a very structured wine with moderate acidity, balanced alcohol content, and graceful, never-too-prominent tannins.

The grapes are collected exclusively by hand and quickly taken to the cellar, where they are destemmed and softly pressed. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled tanks. After maceration, which lasts 9 days between 86-89° F, the wine is racked once the fermentation is completed. The wine is decanted in cement vitrified vats, specially made with cork insulation, keeping for a long time the post-fermentation temperature of 71.6°F. In this way, the malolactic fermentation starts spontaneously, ending in the month of December.

The maturation, which lasts for one year in small French Barrels moderately toasted, allows the wine to attain a perfect combination between tannin, acidity, and alcohol. The wood imparts a soft note, never too strong, and increases the richness of the wine. This wine achieves a beautiful balance as no flavor overpowers the others; rather, they all blend together in one uniquely pleasant experience. The Barbera d'Alba, Peiragal reaches its maturity after 2 years from the harvest, and the plateau of maturity is between 2 and 5 years.

A purplish ruby red color with fresh, live, with clean scents of black currants, berries, toasted hazelnut, and vanilla. Enjoyable the boisé note. Warm and sturdy, lively, full-bodied, pleasant, and harmonious.

A big, luscious red with crushed berries, plums, and hints of burnt orange and chocolate. Full body, light tannins, and a tangy, fruity finish. Just what you expect in an outstanding Barbera. Drink now. James Suckling 92 pts

Rich, powerful ruby. Very clear nose with a rich scent of fresh cherry, plus notes of clove and black pepper. A lot of juicy, ripe fruit on the palate, especially cherry, mouth-filling and opens with supple tannin. There is clear use of wood which makes the wine very smooth and distinctive dark chocolate on the finish. Falstaff 93 pts

Marchesi di Barolo Peiragal Barabera d’Alba 2018    

This wine gathered quite a crowd wanting to taste it. The wine was a welcome relief to an otherwise difficult day peering through brown Canadian smoke, and we had lost our power for a couple of hours. So if ever there was a need for a good wine, this was it. And boy, oh boy, we were not disappointed. Deep garnet red in color, dark berry and cooking spice in the nose, on the medium palate, it was lush fruit, with a meld of lychee, allspice, anise, and plum, with a long, lush dark chocolate cherry finish—balanced, moderate acids and tannins. It needs time to open up, but after an hour, it becomes a monolithic gem. It was such a balanced wine that we did not notice the 14.5% alcohol. To quote James Suckling, this is "an outstanding Barbera." I can see why this sold elsewhere for $44. We got a great deal on this wine because the 2019 is on its way, and they need to move out the 2018. This is the last of what I can get of the great wine; I will run out of inventory quickly. 

Regular Price: $34.99

Internet Average: $44.00

*Sale Price is on 3 or more bottles

Wine is packed in a 6-bottle case

*Wine pricing for these wine promotions are held for two weeks after the email offer.

We can hold wines in unpaid reserves for two weeks to allow you time to pick up your wine. If it takes you longer than that to pick up your wines, give us a call, and we can process your wine and move it to paid reserves.

Orders must be done by replying to this email. The reason is that I need to keep control of the inventory in one central spot. Emailing or calling your favorite wine geek at one of our four stores may not get your orders in on time to be counted or processed and this creates a helter-skelter for us to get you the wine. For the same reason, ordering on our online Web Store is linked to our regular price, and this sale price is only offered on the email platform. It is also why it takes me some time to respond due to the deluge of orders that I sometimes get. We haven't reached the efficiency or volume of Amazon yet. Thank you in advance for your patience.

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