I tasted the Giacomo Conterno 2019 Barbera d'Alba Vigna Cerretta a week or so after the wine had been bottled. You are immediately made aware of the richness and concentration achieved in this growing season thanks to the wine's dark and velvety appearance. To the nose, this Barbera d'Alba imparts wild cherry, plum, spice, tarry smoke, dried mint and sweet apricot. Warm earthy notes frame that core of lively fruit. The Cerretta site in Serralunga d'Alba has more clay in the soils, which produces the extra power displayed by this wine. Ultimately, the 2019 will be remembered for its lasting textural impact.

Black cherry, blackberry, iron and subtle chocolate flavors mark this energetic Barbera. Precise, turning taut as this builds to a long finish. Though concentrated, this feels elegant and racy. Drink now through 2024. 20 cases imported.??–BS??Region: Italy / Piedmont / Barbera d'Alba Select to Add

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.

A rich, exuberant style, this red boasts black cherry, blackberry, graphite, tobacco and earth flavors. Broad and muscular, with a lingering finish that echoes the dark fruit and savory notes. Drink now through 2025. 50 cases imported.??–BS??Region: Italy / Piedmont / Barbera d'Alba Select to Add

The first wine I tasted with Roberto Conterno was the 2016 Barbera d'Alba Cerretta. Roberto says that the hot and dry years are best suited to this grape. Luckily, there have been a string of these, including 2015, 2016 (to a lesser extent) and 2017. This wine is vinified in oak (both the alcoholic and the malolactic fermentations take place in barrel). After that, the wine ages in botte for 20 months. This pretty Barbera d'Alba will be bottled in June. There is a real sense of beauty here, thanks to ripe but also very precise aromas of blackberry and plum. Pretty mineral nuances and light notes of balsam herb and rosemary add elegant touches to the smoky finish.