Querciola Barbera d'Alba DOC 2010

Sergio Gomba’s 2010 Querciola Barbera d’Alba offers a scented, seductive rendition of Piedmont’s classic red varietal. The 2010 Querciola Barbera d’Alba clearly expresses the hedonistic side of Barbera and highlights the tender qualities of this classic red wine from Piedmont. It comes across as scented and savory, like the Barbera wines of yesteryear. And unlike some if its counterparts in the appellation, this Barbera does not try to mimic Barolo – Barbera’s bigger brooding brother that often requires years to resolve itself. Instead, Querciola’s Barbera is made to be drunk young and fresh within the first five years of life. The ruby robed 2010 Querciola Barbera d’Alba bears the scent of ripe Bing cherries, violets, and lush woodlands. It is medium-bodied and gracious on the palate, so that one gets a full taste of Barbera fruit and spice, without a tannic after burn. However, as plush and easy to drink upon opening as this Barbera is, it benefits from a bit of aeration to reveal its ultimate charm and grace. We suggest you allow this wine to breathe for at least twenty minutes before serving at cool room temperature (60º-65ºF). Enjoy!

The 2010 Querciola Barbera d’Alba offers the ideal accompaniment to traditional Piedmontese recipes such as Agnolotti, a savory Piedmontese ravioli; Veal Marengo; and Fonduta, Piedmont’s delicious Fondue made with melted Fontina cheese from nearby Val d’Aosta combined with butter, eggs, milk, and shavings of white truffle. The 2010 Querciola Barbera d’Alba may provide an even greater service to more mundane, everyday fare. A stuffed rotisserie chicken, a mid week meatloaf, or a rich heady pasta positively shine in the presence of the 2010 Querciola Barbera d’Alba, too. Pizza, calzones, and smoked meats will enjoy the noble company of this Barbera d’Alba as well. Polenta (Northern Italy’s version of grits), prepared with plenty of fresh butter and cream, and grilled Italian sausage, with cheese or fennel, offers another easy to prepare treat with Querciola’s succulent Barbera d’Alba.

Sergio Gomba’s Boschetti estate, like so many of Italy’s oenological treasures, remains relatively unknown outside of its local area. One reason is likely the confusion that ensues regarding the estate’s name (Boschetti) and the name under which Gomba markets his estate Barbera and Barolo – Querciola. Scarcity of course is the other reason. Diminutive in size, Gomba’s total area under vine comprises just 24 acres. A small part of the estate’s total acreage is devoted to Piedmont’s legendary Barolo; most of the remainder of Boschetti’s hillside estate, which overlooks the tiny village of Barolo, is planted to Barolo’s best kept secret – Barbera. All of Sergio Gomba’s vineyards face south and southwest to ensure maximum sun exposure.

Barolo, made from the noble Nebbiolo vine, reigns as king throughout the village of Barolo. In fact, Gomba bottles two very fine estate bottled Baroli under the Querciola label, which he names Boschetti and Sori. However, it is Querciola’s aromatic, juicy Barbera d’Alba that is beginning to earn Gomba the greatest accolades at home and abroad. What most consumers don’t realize is that great Barolo producers such as Sergio Gomba are equally adept with Piedmont’s most important red grape varietal, Barbera, whose vines occupy the slower slopes of the estate’s hillside vineyards. In keeping with his family’s long tradition and the style of wine most associated with the village that lends its name to the most illustrious of Italian wines, Sergio Gomba fashions tender, hedonistic Barbera and Barolo wines that can be drunk young or tucked away for up to a decade or more.

In the north of Italy, nestled just beneath the great Alpine wall as it tumbles out of Switzerland and the gleaming Mediterranean Sea, lies Piemonte. It is a region of myriad beauty, with its steep rolling hills and medieval villages. It is also the region of Italy closest to France in proximity as well as in the sheer quality and variety of exceptional wines it produces. For centuries, Italy’s Piedmont remained a prize to be won among warring European powers, no doubt at least in part on account of the province’s world famous cuisine that still draws happily on the abundance and quality of local truffles. Yet today, it is the superbly made wines of Italy’s Piedmont that garner the most international recognition: complex, hedonistic red wines, still delicate whites, and sweet haunting Muscats. With such exquisite fare, should anyone question why the hearty robust delights of the Piedmontese table remain the region’s most famous ambassadors to a hungry and thirsty world?