WINE TASTING NOTE: 2017 Fontanafredda Barbera D’Alba
Would you like to have tasting notes for your own personal tasting of this wine, either to develop your own palate or share information with friends at a dinner party? If so, click below!
Fontanafredda is a very large and important estate in the Langhe region of Piedmont, in Northwest Italy.
With a storied history that dates back to 1858 and involves Italy’s first King, Vittorio Emanuele II, this producer is most well known today for being owned by the business partners behind the stylish and chic Eataly concept stores around the world. A quick walk around an Eataly location’s wine shop quickly reveals a stunning and impressive array of Fontanafredda wines in all of their many incarnations!
In addition, since the 2018 harvest, Fontanafredda is the largest certified organic winery in Piedmont, with 120 acres of certified organic farming land. Click here to learn more about Fontanafredda if you’re interested!
The 2017 Fontanafredda Barbera D’Alba is a stylish and affordable wine made from 100% Barbera grapes. Lagging just slightly behind Nebbiolo, Barbera is Piedmont’s second most important grape by most accounts. Barbera is a juicy, flavourful grape that is favoured by the Piedmontese for day to day drinking because it does not have harsh tannins and can be enjoyed young.
While the Barbera grape is Piedmont’s most widely planted variety and is planted throughout the region, one of the most coveted areas for quality wines from this variety is the town of Alba, which is where this wine comes from.
Overall, this is a lovely wine that you can’t go wrong with and even better, you can likely impress more than a few friends with because of its unique story and history! According to Wine Spectator, only 10,000 cases of this wine were produced.
My Tasting Notes
A very pretty, sparkling ruby colour in the glass, this medium bodied wine is dry and full of flavour, with ample red fruit and floral notes on the nose, juicy acidity that gives the wine a very vibrant and lively character and very light and smooth tannins. Given the soil in which the fruit grows, the wine also has a light chocolate and smoke quality as well, and a beautiful long finish.
This is a no-fuss wine that can be enjoyed right now. Short to medium-term aging (i.e. 1-3 years) would also be fine.
Wine it up a notch by pairing this wine with grilled pork, pasta with meat sauce or aged, cured salumi. Delizioso!
Cheers, Friends!
