Whereas the 2016 Barbera d'Alba Francia is reticent, the Barbera d'Alba Cerretta is a total showstopper. A rush of dark red and purplish berry fruit, lavender, mint and white flowers fills out the wine's ample, broad frame. The Conterno Barberas typically need a few years in bottle to be at their best, but the 2016 is going to be virtually impossible to resist when its young.

The first wine I tasted with Roberto Conterno was the 2016 Barbera d'Alba Cerretta. Roberto says that the hot and dry years are best suited to this grape. Luckily, there have been a string of these, including 2015, 2016 (to a lesser extent) and 2017. This wine is vinified in oak (both the alcoholic and the malolactic fermentations take place in barrel). After that, the wine ages in botte for 20 months. This pretty Barbera d'Alba will be bottled in June. There is a real sense of beauty here, thanks to ripe but also very precise aromas of blackberry and plum. Pretty mineral nuances and light notes of balsam herb and rosemary add elegant touches to the smoky finish. ML