You may well think that red wine demands to have an addition of oak attached to it, in some form, lets say staves,chips or powder for the cheaper wines, hogsheads, barriques or casks for the more expensive ones. Either way, reading through the majority of wine critics, oak is it, when it comes to high quality red wine. It is what some have described as the "spice-rack" of the wine makers kitchen, and like a good pork tenderloin, no serious red wine is any good without it. WRONG.....
And here is the proof. 2007 BARBERA D'ALBA from Bricco Maiolica, made from Barbera grapes grown in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. This wine has spent its life in contact with the inert, clean polished beauty of stainless steel tanks. No, porous, possibly infectious plant material for this wine. As a result, the wine is lively and refreshing, giving up handfuls of strawberries, summer red fruits and slight blackcurrants taste. Then when you think that's all it has, there's the slight tary note, fragrant, dark and feminine. The tannins here are delicate but meaningful they finely dance around the mouth. The acidity from this high region of Alba gives the clean finish and mouthwatering moorishness. Cracking wine, brilliant value and NO OAK. Here's a wine I could drink all night, just give me a large bowl of spaghetti, a serviette tucked into my shirt and Giuseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso .
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