Barbera D'Alba - Superiore - Diego & Damiano Barale

The Barbera d'Alba Superiore DOC by Diego e Damiano Barale is the Langhe Barbera — the one that grows on the same hills as Barolo and Barbaresco, on the same calcareous marl and Serravalle Tuff soils that produce Italy's greatest Nebbiolo. Not the Barbera d'Asti of the Asti valley floors, but the Alba one, more structured, more mineral, with a natural concentration and aromatic depth that directly reflect the exceptional vocation of the Langhe terroir.

Diego e Damiano Barale are two brothers who tend their Langhe vineyards with the precise and consistent artisan approach that defines the finest producers of the denomination — those who do not seek immediate visibility but build over time a solid reputation based on consistent quality vintage after vintage. 8,000 bottles of this Barbera Superiore testify to a carefully detailed and territory-respectful artisan production of contained dimensions.

Barbera d'Alba — a DOC denomination that overlaps geographically with the Barolo and Barbaresco zones — is Italy's most elegant and most complex Barbera when born from gifted vineyards on the hills of Castiglione Falletto, La Morra, Serralunga or Neive. On the same soils that produce great Nebbiolo, Barbera expresses a fruit concentration, calcareous minerality and tannic structure that Barbera d'Asti from the Asti plains cannot achieve. It is the wine that Langhe people drink among themselves while waiting for the great Barolos and Barbarescos to reach maturity in the cellar — but in the right hands it is far more than a wine of waiting.

Diego e Damiano Barale interpret the Barbera Superiore with 15 months of ageing in French oak tonneaux — the 500-litre containers that guarantee an elegant and progressive wood contribution, bringing additional tannic structure and well-integrated spiced and vanilla notes without overpowering the vibrant fruit of the Barbera — followed by 3 months in bottle. The 2022 vintage in the Langhe was of great quality — a warm summer with cool nocturnal temperature swings that preserved the natural acidity, producing Barbera of exceptional concentration.

On the nose it is intense and fragrant: ripe black cherry, blackberry, plum, blackcurrant, cacao, delicate vanilla from the French tonneaux, light spice and a balsamic note of Langhe aromatic herbs. On the palate it is warm and structured — the natural power of Barbera d'Alba well balanced by the variety's vibrant acidity, more present tannins than Barbera d'Asti thanks to the calcareous Langhe terroir influence, a harmonious glyceric sweetness and a long finish with notes of concentrated red fruit, spice and minerality. Serve at 16-17°C. Expresses its best between 3 and 8 years from the harvest.