2017 Barbera d'Alba Cerretta
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The 2017 Barbera d'Alba Cerretta is rich, unctuous and super-expressive, its recent bottling notwithstanding. Ripe red cherry, plum, blood orange, hard candy and spice develop in the glass, but what surprises me most about the 2017 is how polished and refined it has become during the course of its aging. Of course, the 2017 needs time to be at its best, but it is certainly off to a great start. The natural richness and intensity of the year are so well-balanced here, while the wine's breadth will emerge even more fully with time.
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Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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Barbera loves a warm vintage, and that's exactly what it got in 2017. Roberto Conterno tells me his favorite recent vintages are 2015, 2016 and 2017. Because of low yields in this hot and dry year, no large-format bottles of the 2017 Barbera d'Alba Cerretta were produced. The Cerretta vineyard is characterized by a higher percentage of clay soils, and this greatly impacts the density and the power of the wines that come from this site. This wine shows dark fruit intensity with some lingering sweetness (followed by 15.5% alcohol). However, the wine also offers concentrated freshness packed tight within the thick fiber of the fruit, and the results are never heavy. This beautiful wine just oozes Barbera typicity with soft and generous layering.
The Barbera d'Alba Cerretta, which is usually easier to read than the Francia, is dark and ample in 2017. Some of that is of course attributable to the personality of the year. A host of dark red and blue-toned fruits are backed up by quite a bit of structural heft in a decidedly potent Barbera that is going to need time to be at its very best.
About the producer
Giacomo Conterno is arguably Barolo’s most celebrated estate. While most famous for its Monfortino Riserva, the quality found in every bottling of Nebbiolo and Barbera at this address makes them a benchmark producer for both varieties.