Barbera Poderi Alasia Il Cascinone Rive 2009

A deep garnet hued Barbera with vibrant aromas of black cherries and prunes with chocolate and toasty oak undertones and a touch of mint. An abundance of vibrant red currants, black cherries and a touch of spice show through on the palate, which has a rich, voluptuous texture balancing taught acidity and fine oak tannins. Pair with mature hard cheeses, pepperoni pizza, gnocchi with pesto and sun-dried tomatoes, smoked gammon with onion mash.

This exceptional estate in the Monferrato hills was bought by Araldica in 1999. After 15 years of replanting, 70 hectares of the 102 have now been reclaimed and are in full production. The warmer, southwest facing slopes are used to grow Barbera, Merlot and Cabernet while those facing north east give fresher growing conditions, ideal for aromatic varietals such as Brachetto and Moscato as well as Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. The 'Il Cascinone' range is produced with grapes sourced from Araldica’s most prized vineyards, both on the estate itself and from other selected sites.

Barbera fruit for the Rive came from the Rive Vineyard (Piemontese for 'very steep'), and the Baldizzone Vineyard. These vineyards are in the communes of Montabone and Castel Boglione respectively. The grapes were hand-picked, the must was then fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel vats with pumping over four times a day. The wine was pressed just before dryness and then racked to a mixture of new (2/3) and one year old (1/3) French oak barriques where it underwent malolactic fermentation and aged for 18 months. Following bottling, the wine was left to develop in bottle for 6 months before being released.

Awards-

2007 Vintage: Sommelier Wine Awards 2011 - Gold

2008 Vintage: Decanter World Wine Awards 2011 - Silver

2007 Vintage: Decanter World Wine Awards 2010 - Bronze

2007 Vintage: IWC 2010 - Bronze

2007 Vintage: IWSC 2009 - Silver (Best in Class)

2007 Vintage: Decanter World Wine Awards - 2009 - Bronze