ERBALUNA (Piedmont, Italy)
Barbera d'Alba Superiore La Rosina 2007
100% Barbera manually harvested by rigorous selection in late September (50-55hl/ha). Fermented naturally 8-10 days in tank with pumping continually for 4-6 days. Aged in large oak for 6-8 months. Bottled at the end of the summer, rested for 2 months and sent free of the cellar.
The brothers of Erbaluna, Severino and Andrea Oberto, quietly make terrior expressive wines in their historic home of La Morra, descendants of a long line of wine makers. In 1985, taking over from their father, they decided to retrieve the contact with the earth that seemed lost in the prior decades. Through them, the modern world has entered the winery, with stainless steel and the latest machinery as well as the sensitivity to nature, converting the vineyards to organically farmed plots. The wine is still made in the large foudre barrels (still etched with the date of 1915!) and the cellar lined with bottles from the ’Äò20s. The classic (elegant and terrior driven) meets the modern (youthful, exuberant fresh fruits), to make drinkable, pleasure filled Barbera, Nebbiolo and Dolcetto. The vineyards face south, growing down the steep hills of clay/limestone, with layers of ancient sandstone beneath. Why would the brothers change a thing, including running every aspect of the farm, from new plantings to sales? They admire the land that provides for them and understand the sacrifices made in the past that they benefit from now. They are a family winery, naturally and organically.
100% Barbera manually harvested by rigorous selection in late September (50-55hl/ha). Fermented naturally 8-10 days in tank with pumping continually for 4-6 days. Aged in large oak for 6-8 months. Bottled at the end of the summer, rested for 2 months and sent free of the cellar.