Waving Tree 2005 Columbia Valley Barbera

Bottle #11: Waving Tree 2005 Columbia Valley Barbera

Price: $15

Running Tab: $142

One of my bad tasting habits is that I drink wine alone. That makes me sound really sad - I don't drink alone, but I drink the wine by itself. I've learned that's an American matter of course with wine as opposed to, say, Italian culture where they down more wine than most small-stature, suspender-wearers would seem like they have the physical capacity to do so... But they do it with food. It's all about what wine goes with what food.

Keeping in my mind, I went with a Barbera, an Italian varietal, and drank it with some crackers. Baby steps. I've been trying to find a Barbaresco and/or Barolo for less than $50 around here but that's near impossible (nice Italian varietals being imported from the Motherland don't come cheap) so I settled with a grape that sounds like the other two! 

I found the bottle as a "new release" feature from this artsy and quaint little cellar I decided to scare the car behind me and abruptly pull over to check it out as I was on joyride last week. The label caught my eye because the colors were pretty. I'm deep. After speaking with the sommelier about the wine, he thought very highly of the deep southern Washington vineyard as well as the winemaker who was in the shop the previous week. 

I've been on a decanting binge because I'm so proud of that recent purchase even though I doubt it was too necessary for this 2005 wine. However, I've found letting the wine take a couple deep breaths of oxygen before consuming is never a bad idea. 

Nothing about this wine was a bad idea. Move over Robert Mondavi, I've found my new flavor of the week. The Waving Tree 2005 Barbera was simply delicious. The rich purple color in the glass was as rich as the nose coming from crystal. The aroma was everything it should have been for this young varietal - red ripe raspberries tossed with fresh blackberries and possibly some blueberries, a little reminiscent of a sweet sangria. A little toasted scent from being aged in oak for a year or so gave it some good body and tamed the intense fruit bouquet. 

On my mouth, the wine was complex but not too overwhelming and had a wonderful balance of tannins and fruit with a little acidity and alcohol giving that heat/burning sensation down my throat that I've always loved. And then for my sweet-tooth, I found a little bit of vanilla in the glass too.

I was SO impressed by this $15 bottle and I recommend it mostly to people who are iffy about wine. This will make you fall so hard you're head will ache in the morning because you'll finish the bottle off solo - as in by yourself, without food. Love hurts.

Score: 9.5