BARBERA D’ASTI

‘LE ORME’

MICHELE CHIARLO, Italy

£15.95 per bottle (usually £18.95)

”An elegant and intense Barbera, bursting with notes of ripe cherry and redcurrant, layered with a touch of spice. Harmonious, rounded and beautifully balanced through to a lovely savoury finish.”

Michele Chiarlo leads the way in the production of Barbera d'Asti and over the past 50 years they have devoted time, research and investment into the vineyards and cellar, resulting in this highly regarded wine. This Barbera d'Asti is named after the Orme su La Court, Michele Chiarlo's artistic park. The grapes are cultivated here and also in Montemareto and Costa della Monarche in the Asti area. The vineyard soils are known as ‘Astiane Sands’ and consist of calcareous clay marl of sedimentary marine origin, with a good presence of lime and sand; they are rich in microelements, in particular magnesium. These soils produce ample, intense and elegant wines of good structure, yet they are also fresh and velvety with a long, silky finish.

The fruit was picked when it was fully ripe and each vineyard block was fermented separately. Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks, lasting for 10 days with maceration on the skins. A gentle shower system of submerging the cap was used to extract flavour, colour and structure. After malolactic conversion the wine was racked and aged in a combination of stainless steel and oak. The oak ageing lasted for three months, imparting a subtle complexity, but the final blend overall retains its freshness and the varietal Barbera characteristics. The wine then spent further time in bottle with the maturation period lasting 16 months.