Rapalino Barbera d'Alba "Pian Romualdo" 2017

Since its debut in these pages nearly twenty years ago, Federico Rapalino’s exemplary Barbera is among our customers’ most beloved wines. Rapalino’s transparent black plum-colored 2017 Barbera conveys the warmth and depth of Piedmont’s 2017 vintage with an earthy nose of blackberries, violets, leather, licorice, and dark tobacco. Rapalino’s 2017 Barbera brims with tart blackberry and cassis fruit complemented by complex suggestions of tar, leather, tobacco, and morel mushrooms. Plentiful, chewy tannins emerge on the back-palate to frame the wine’s deep kernel of black fruits. Longtime fans know that Pian Romualdo is one of Barbera’s grand cru sites, and Rapalino’s 2017 once again confirms the vineyard’s exalted status. Delicious now with braised beef, oven-roasted root vegetables, egg-rich pastas, or grilled pork, the wine has the structure and poise to ensure five to seven years’ evolution in your cool cellar.