*Bottle #27: 2004 Franco M. Martinetti Barbera d'Asti Bric dei Banditi
*Price: $24
*Running Tab: $344
I think what I like about Italian wine is that it is such a part of their everyday life. I don't mean to speak as if I've been there (I wish), more just that I respect their way of life from an outsider's point of view. It's different wines with different courses, with different times of the day, with different people and different moods. Wine is such an anthropology, a culture, part of Italian heritage alongside of their once-prosperous empires and beautifully crafted, age-cracked sculptures. I like that.
And again, I'm diving deep into another bottle of red Italian wine - a Barbera from Asti, a city and commune in the Piedmont (northern Italy) region. This varietal is the most prominent and renowned red wine in Asti and the Piedmont area is gaining international recognition for those wines. Barbera in general is the most/second-most planted varietal in Italy. A cheaper varietal in the area, Italian-grown Barbera isn't the most complex or depth-defying grape out there but it sure tastes good.
I love Barbera. I haven't been let down yet and this won't be the first time.
Franco M. Martinetti, the wine's producer, has a quirky flair on his grape creations. He's known for setting apart his wines with a "manic-like research for elegance and balance" (http://www.vinissimo-italy.com). And this Barbera d'Asti played out just how he envisioned.
Martinetti's 2004 Barbera stood out with black currants and plum on the nose, backing it up with other dark fruits like raisins as well as a caramelized, roast beef and milk chocolate note. Some definite cedar notes to it, which I think isn't typical for Italian winemaking (I think they usually use stainless steel now for aging). I know it all sounds a little weird and might put you off, but it's what the nose knows, none of those are foul traits and I'm going to go with that.
The wine had a lighter-bodied mouthfeel, with low-medium acidity, medium heat in the back of my throat (around 13% alcohol) and those similar dark fruits with soft tannins. The balance Martinetti was striving for was easily achieve in the wine, however an air of elegance was somewhat passed off by the lack of intricacy in the wine.
It wasn't the best Barbera I've ever had - trust me, I've been on a major binge - but I enjoyed it. So much so that I realized (even though the plan was to share with my roommates) I drank the entire bottle myself. Good job, Erin.
Score: 6.5.
2 comments:
Salve Erin, great review! If you're searching for more power and complexity, try the Barbera d'Alba first and then Ghemme and Gattinara, and then Barbaresco and finally Barolo of course, if you wanna stay in Piemonte, but you probably already knew all that.Anyway, take care! Ciao ciao
Gentile signorina,
as the man whom Franco Martinetti himself considers a "younger sibling" and who initiated the whole "vinissimo" project (and got screwed by the shrewd Koreans along the way..), I feel somehow qualified to spend a few words about the "Montruc" The wine got its debut in 1984, at a time when Barbera, in spite of its diffusion acreage-wise, was not ever thought of when refinement and elegance were taken in consideration. Barbera was blue collar, unpretentious, often "frizzante" - even more so in Asti and neighbouring Lombardia than in Alba. Then Giacomo Bologna, of Bricco dell'Uccellone fame, almost single-handedly set out to change the course of the history of Barbera. Bologna himself, during his first vintages of BDU, would rely upon Martinetti's legendary knowledge of world wines and good taste to get feedback. And during one of these tastings, Giacomo Bologna, a bit exasperated because of his friend constant(manic-like?) criticism, invited him (in a brotherly, but slighty heated way) to make "his own goddam Barbera"..
Thus Montruc was born - the name, not by chance, means "my own thing" in French..
Is Montruc the best wine Martinetti crafs? In all honesty, I don't believe so.. I love the polish and finesse of his Sulbric Barbera/Cab blend, his Barolos are as caressing as true Nebbiolo can get, and U.S. drinkers might have not gotten a chance to taste his "Siccis" - declassified Nebbiolo form Barbaresco, which is outstanding value to boot.. Still, Montruc has historical significance, evoking an era during which Italian wines got rid of all inferiority complexes and approached center stage. It's also eminently food friendly and, as you already found out, really easy to drink by itself.
Post a Comment