Piemonte DOC Barbera Largé

Biodynamic Wine

The selection of the best vines from the local oldest vineyards. This wine is produced only in exceptional vintages. It is refined in barriques for 20 months and can age in the bottle for over 10 years.

The soil

Soil dedicated to Barbera vine farming is marly, calcareous and extends at approximately 380 meters above sea level, positioned south-south west. The vineyard is raised with the Guyot method, has a density of 4500 vines per hectare and aged 18 years old. A grapevine mass selection has been created for this implant: thousands of shoots have been grafted, accurately choosing the best vines from the most ancient vineyards of the area. No fertilizers or chemical products are used for farming.

Grapes

This wine is produced only in exceptional vintages. When the Barbera grapes are perfect and analysis show the physic and organoleptic characteristics for the production of a great wine.

Wine making

Around mid-October grapes are handpicked and put in crates to be brought into the cellar; the bunches are then selected one by one, removing those unsuitable.

After the destemmer-pressing, the must begin its fermentation with natural lees and on the skin. The following day pumpovers start to extract color and aroma.

The alcoholic fermentation continues slowly for 15 days. Then the must is left for another 10 days in contact with its own skins. Racking, i.e. the separation of the liquid from the skins, follows.

The wine is kept at a temperature of 20° C for about one month, to favour the malolactic fermentation. After some decanting necessary to make the product clearer, the wine is refined in barriques. It is then bottled after about 20 months.

Perfect storage

If stored in a cool dry place, and in the dark, at 10°/18° C, bottles keep unaltered for 8/10 years.

VINEYARDS

At our farm we follow the biodynamic approach, not only dispensing with fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, but also using the soil and its vital resources in a careful and responsible way.

The traditional agriculture uses fertilizers, instead: plants are nourished with soluble food which roots absorb passively, thus vines lose their identity and the relationship with the soil therefore uniform all flavours and characteristics of their fruits. Biodynamic treatments are a way of harmonizing the farm and the universe’s creative rhythm.

At our vineyard we use two spray preparations, the horn manure and the horn silica, which influence the dynamics of the vegetal growth, improving the quality of our grapes and crops. Both preparations are mixed up in water for one hour just before use.

The blending starts by spinning in one direction, creating a deep whirlpool in the barriques. The direction is then changed and blending continues until a new whirlpool is created. Mixing up small doses of material in large quantities of water is called “dynamization”.

DEMETER CERTIFICATION

Biodynamic farm with Demeter certified since 2007. It is one of the 47 wine certified companies in Italy.

For over half a century the international Demeter trademark has been granting the correct implementation of the biodynamic principles to cultivations and food productions all over the world. Controls on the conformity to such principles and to the provided procedures are constant.

In particular, as far as wine is concerned, Demeter certification attests not only the quality of grapes, but also of all the processes of winemaking and of the winery itself. The commitment to the respect for nature goes thus throughout the entire productive process, to deliver to consumers a biodynamic wine, peculiar expression of the terroir and exclusive product of nature’s will.

Winery distinguishes for its exclusive biodynamic piedmont wine production which highly respects the international certification criteria.

Barbera Grapes

Barbera is a dark-skinned wine grape variety found in several Italian wine regions, including its native Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Puglia, Campania and even the island regions, Sicily and Sardinia. At the turn of the 21st Century, it was Italy's third most-commonly planted red wine grape, after Sangiovese and Montepulciano. Barbera grapes are used both in blended wines and varietals – the latter are becoming increasingly common as Italy continues its move towards varietal labeling.

Barbera (like so many Italian wine grape varieties) has ancient origins, although it has only been traceably documented since the 17th Century. It was first cited in an official document in 1798, by Count Giuseppe Nuvolone-Pergamo of Scandaluzzo, deputy director of the Società Agraria di Torino (Agrarian Society of Turin). The count is credited with creating the first definitive list of Piedmont's wine grape varieties. Barbera-based wines were well regarded even then, for their rustic-yet-generous character. They were a favorite among Savoyard army officers, who considered the wine a "sincere companion", which helped them maintain their courage in battle.

When young, most Barbera wines have a bright-red cherry character, distinguished from Nebbiolo (which often overshadows Barbera) by softer tannins and a certain roundness. When matured in barrel and allowed to age in bottle for a few years, this turns to a denser, sour-cherry note. A warm, Merlot-like plumminess is also commonly detectable, although the variety is more closely related to Mourvedre than Merlot. When overheated, a Barbera vine will produce comparatively flat, dull wines with notes of baked prunes and raisins, while its trademark cherry flavors turn towards kirsch.

Barbera reaches its zenith in Piedmont (see Barbera d'Asti and Barbera d'Alba), where the vine performs best on well-drained, limestone-rich slopes with a warm southerly aspect.