Conterno Fantino Vignota Barbera d'Alba 2020
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Parker
Robert
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A uniquely flavored Barbera, made from grapes grown in several different windswept vineyards on hilltops in Monforte d’Alba. Vignota ages in second-use barrique for ten months, followed by two more months in bottle.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Conterno Fantino 2020 Barbera d'Alba Vignota is extra generous and rich in this hot vintage, with lots of syrupy cherry fruit and blackberry confit. This wine offers a classic interpretation of Barbera, a native grape of Northern Italy that loves heat and sunshine. It thrives in limestone and marl soils in this case. Vignota (with precisely 23,432 bottles on the market) is soft and velvety in texture, with some sweet fruit on the close.
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Friendly and approachable, Barbera produces wines in a wide range of styles, from youthful, fresh and fruity to serious, structured and age-worthy. Piedmont is the most famous source of Barbera; those from Asti and Alba garner the most praise. Barbera actually can adapt to many climates and enjoys success in some New World regions. Somm Secret—In the past it wasn’t common or even accepted to age Barbera in oak but today both styles—oaked and unoaked—abound and in fact most Piedmontese producers today produce both styles.
An historic village situated right in between the famous regions of Barolo and Barbaresco, Alba is also the name for the larger wine region surrounding the village.
In a sense, “Alba” is a catch-all phrase, and includes the declassified Nebbiolo wines made in Barolo and Barbaresco, as well as the Nebbiolo grown just outside of these regions’ borders. In fact, Nebbiolo d’Alba is a softer, less tannic and more fruit-forward wine ready to drink within just a couple years of bottling. It is a great place to start if you want to begin to understand the grape. Likewise, the even broader category of Langhe Nebbiolo offers approachable and value-driven options as well.
Barbera, planted alongside Nebbiolo in the surrounding hills, and referred to as Barbera d’Alba, takes on a more powerful and concentrated personality compared to its counterparts in Asti.
Dolcetto is ubiquitous here and, known as Dolcetto d'Alba, can be found casually served alongside antipasti on the tables of Alba’s cafes and wine bars.
Not surprisingly, given its location, Alba is recognized as one of Italy’s premiere culinary destinations and is the home of the fall truffle fair, which attracts visitors from worldwide every year.