Barbera
Barbera is a fascinating grape variety that can produce wines of great variety; depending on the winemaking techniques used and length of oak aging, it can produce wines that are rich and powerful or soft and easy-drinking. Flavors of plum and cherry are typical as is high acidity. You can use Wine Enthusiast’s online Buying Guide to find the top-rated Barbera among our extensive Barbera wine reviews and easy-to-use database. Our Barbera reviews will give you a general idea what to expect from wines made from Barbera, and will help you find one that best suits your needs.
Tranche 2007 Barbera (Columbia Valley (WA))
- Editors' Choice
- Online Exclusive
- $25
The soft but flavorful entry into a land of dark fruits, smoke and espresso barely hints at the wine to come. Give it time to breathe and it opens into a wonderfully complex, smooth and creamy wine with no rough edges. Pretty red fruit, seductive and lingering, is matched to hints of chocolate from 30 months in neutral barrels.
— P.G.
(4/1/2012)
Vietti 2005 La Crena Barbera (Barbera d'Asti)
- Online Exclusive
- $47
Serious and multifaceted, with peppery black fruit aromas wrapped up in a frame of toasty new oak. Abundant but plush tannins support intense blackberry and roasted nut flavors in the mouth, winding up with a hit of mocha on the long, highly nuanced finish. Not your grandmother’s Barbera.
— W.E.
(2/1/2010)
Bersano 1997 Generala Barbera (Barbera d'Asti)
- $34
Rich and open from the start all the way through to the end. Abundantly ripe, with deep cherry fruit that sings. Really solid, with the smoothest finish you could ask for. A good one for the next several years.
— W.E.
(4/1/2000)
Attilio Ghisolfi 1997 Barbera (Barbera d'Alba)
- Best Buy
- $14
Handsome nose of dark cherry fruit, chocolate and toast. Rich and mouthfilling, with good fruit that is buttressed, but not overshadowed, by oak. Moderate acidity and tannins, but nothing harsh or off-putting. Layered fruit with chocolate and licorice on the long mouthwatering finish. Best Buy.
— W.E.
(4/1/2000)
Aldo Conterno 1996 Conco Tre Pile Barbera (Barbera d'Alba)
- $37
Tight and powerful nose of funky barnyard, oak char and earth. Complex flavors of tobacco and bramble bush are intermixed with more basic cherry, chocolate and mint. An intellectual wine for Piedmont fans to ponder.
— W.E.
(4/1/2000)
Seghesio 1997 Vigneto della Chiesa Barbera (Barbera d'Alba)
- $30
Lots of oak along with tobacco, menthol and cherry fruit. A very compact, intense core of black fruit leads into a long chocolaty, spicy finish that tastes a lot like a cup of espresso. A very good, deeply layered wine.
— W.E.
(4/1/2000)
Michele Chiarlo 1999 La Court Barbera (Barbera d'Asti Superiore)
- Editors' Choice
Cola, coffee and cherry aromas lead off this barrique-aged wine that features lots of intensity and style. Yes, it’s slathered throughout with spicy but smooth vanilla oak, but that oak works wonders with the fruit. The finish tosses up coffee and superior length. As a whole, it’s racy and refined, with nuances of bacon and smoke.
— M.S.
(11/15/2002)
Neirano 1998 Le Croci Barbera (Barbera d'Asti Superiore)
- $24
Jazzy juice like this is why savvy enthusiasts are big on Barbera. Showcases the fine fruit typical of the Piedmont’s recent hot streak of vintages. It’s also an example of a more confident, balanced use of oak in the best examples of this workhorse grape. Presents stylish chocolate, dark berry and game notes, bright acidity and firm, even tannins. Will compliment…
— M.M.
(11/15/2002)
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