Showing posts with label Barbera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barbera. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Tamas Estates Barbera 2006



One of the great things about giving gifts to your friends is that sometimes they give you gifts right back.  Denise made a wonderful three-cheese rigatoni dish last week to give to our friend Sioux-z.  Sioux-z looks forward to receiving anything that's stamped "From Denise's Kitchen."  She's almost as big a fan of my wife's cooking as I am, and that says a lot.  With several days notice, and knowing we say "yes" to wine, she very thoughtfully procured a gift for us in return for the rigatoni.  I have a glass of it beside me as I write this.

Tamas Estates - despite the European-looking name and a wine list that would fit in nicely in an Italian restaurant - is located in California's Livermore Valley.  Livermore is up the 680 from San Jose and just east of Pleasanton.  Besides the Barbera, Tamas also produces several other Cal-Italia wines.  Pinot Grigio, Sangiovese, and their Vino Rosso blend.  They also make a "Prima Classe Riserva" which, I understand, combines a super-Tuscan blend with a Barbera Port.  Yummy.  The Barbera has had a half hour to breathe, so let's dive in!

Upon opening, the wine carries a lot of heat - it requires a full hour to settle down.  Once it did, though, it was very mellow.  The next night it was ready to go upon unscrewing the cap.  The Barbera's color is very dark, so dark I can barely see through it.  The nose gives notes of a brambly blackberry and a toasty vanilla.  On the palate there's big fruit and a high acidity level.  I'm thinking this wine would be great with sausage or even a steak.  Maybe I'll buy another bottle and be prepared for Denise's next rigatoni night!

Winemaker:  Chris Graves
Variety:  100% Barbera
Appellation:  California > San Francisco Bay > Alameda > Livermore Valley
Vintage:  2006

Alcohol Level:  13.5%
Price:  $13
Acquisition disclaimer:  Gift from a friend




Saturday, October 24, 2009

Doce Robles Barbera 2007

I tried this wine a while back, and these are my notes on it.

The Bottle:

The pleasant vineyard drawing on the label is probably a view from Highway 46 outside of Paso Robles. I'm just guessing about that, but it's a nice picture anyway. Pardon the "borrowed" 2006 vintage label here, but I liked the way the picture showed in this shot much better than in the one I took. Estate grown, 100% Barbera grapes are aged 24 months in American oak. The alcohol runs 13.9% abv.

The Nose:
Big licorice aromas right away reminded me of smelling a wine at a winery tasting - the nose always seems so much more powerful to me in a tasting room. Lots of berry fruit came through. They say on the label you should expect some raspberry, but I don't get that. Maybe a raspberry/chocolate blend.

The Taste:
There was a very full mouthfeel, with a vibrant and oaky texture. This wine sat quite well in my mouth and fairly screamed for food. I tried a few gorgonzola crackers with it -
thank you, Trader Joe's - but that didn't hit the mark. I would love to try it with an Italian dish, maybe a mushroom risotto. If memory serves - and that's always hit and miss - bought this wine for about $10 at Trader Joe's. I think it's well worth the money. Hopefully they won't run out before I get more.