From: Piedmont, Italy
Varietal: Barbera
Taste: Ruby-violet in color, this soft and rich wine has notes of blackberries, sour cherry and ripe plum, along with spiced notes like cinnamon and baking spice. It is deep and full, silky and dark, with mouthwatering acidity.
Pairing: It should be served at a temperature between sixteen and eighteen degrees Celsius, ideally paired with starters and cold meats, pasta dishes with butter or cheese sauces, such as the traditional ‘plin’ ravioli, bagna cauda, or risottos and creamy cheeses.
About. The vineyard covers a surface of 2.2 hectares and is about 420/480 metres above sea level, facing east: the soil is clayey calcareous. The vines are vertically trellised, pruned the ‘Guyot’ way, and the density is of 5000 plants per hectare, planted in 1996, 1998 and 2000. The average final production is of about 20000 0.75lt bottles. Vinification starts after a manual harvest in crates, starting with immediate stalk removal, followed by three pump overs a day for the first week. Maceration lasts eight days. After the racking, decantering and the malolactic fermentation have occurred, the wine is then left to stand in stainless steel vats for 10-14 months, and is later bottled in autumn. Barbera d’Alba DOC is a typical Piedmontese barbera wine with a striking underlying acidity that makes it particularly enjoyable to drink, especially during its first two to three years of life, but can also be appreciated after four to six years.
The winery. Some time ago, Loredana Addari and Nicola Argamante, both with degrees in Agriculture and specialized in Viticulture and Oenology decided to make a change, leaving their jobs in the city to buy a small estate (which only produced grapes) in the province of Cuneo, the heart of the Langhe hills: Monforte d'Alba. It is a family-run winery: the property is run and taken care of by Loredana, Nicola, and Loredana’s brother Lorenzo. The estate gets its name “Corsini” from the small hamlet of Monforte d’Alba, where one can admire the ancient stone houses. Instead, the name “Ruggeri” is Nicola’s mother’s surname: she helped them achieve their dream, financing the launch of the estate.
