Wine Review - 2012 Bera Barbera D'Alba: Smokey & Balanced Italian Red

Barbera D'Alba is pretty good even when it's mediocre.  Most times we think of it as Pizza Wine, so how bad can it be?!  You can get cheaper versions of this wine (it's $19.49 locally) but really the quality of this wine really makes it stand out.

The wine is a very dark purple with almost tiny bubbles in the bottom of the glass.  Very interesting.  On the swirl it looks like a medium bodied wine and the legs are extremely quick to come down the sides of the glass.

There is a very mild nose on this wine which combines a smokey, toasted oak notes with a black current and berries.  It is a nice subtle bouquet that makes you want to taste the wine and that to us is the job of the smells that a wine produces.  If the nose encourages you to drink that is a super, duper win.

We felt as though this wine was on the thin side of medium bodied.  It has a very structured mouth feel which is tart but balanced.  Layer over that some plum / stone fruit and you get a very attractive wine.  What started on the nose gets backed up on the tongue.  It is just a nice drinking wine.

	Tasting Notes:	Score:
Sight (0-5)	Dark purple with bubbles in the glass and quick legs	4.0
Smell (0-5)	Very attractive nose which combines toasted oak and black currents. It draws you in and makes you want to drink the wine	4.5
Taste (0-10)	Medium bodied and balance with good structure and lots of plums / stone fruit.	8.5
	Total:	17.0 / 20 (85%)

At under $20 it is a buy recommendation and worth much more than a pairing with Pizza, though there's nothing wrong with that.

Keep on tasting!

Chris & Shannon