We gathered every Australian barbera that we could find and set our expert panel the task of finding the wines that compelled the most. All wines were tasted blind, and each panellist named their top six wines. Below are the wines that made the panellists’ top-six selections from the tasting.
Our panel: Mitch Sokolin, Winemaker Eleven Sons and Owner Manager Gray and Gray; Prasad Patil, winemaker Dal Zotto Wines; Abbey Moret DipWSET, owner Atlas Vinifera; Patrick Dowling, On-Premise National Sales Manager for Domaine Wine Shippers; Natasha Johns DipWSET, owner/director Primavera Selections; Lawrence Scanlon, winemaker/owner Dirty Black Denim and partner of Theodore’s Refreshment Service. All wines were tasted blind.
This had unanimous support from the panel, with Sokolin and Patil naming it as their wine of the day, while Dowling, Moret and Scanlon had it one place back, with Johns also putting it in her top six. “It does feel escapist to pick this as my top wine, but I really couldn’t argue with how well made it was and how much pleasure it brought from a variety I don’t expect these things from,” wrote Sokolin. “Carbonic maceration, exceptionally well executed. It showcased a lot of the so-called ‘blue’ and plum that many of my top wines did and didn’t overwhelm with the bubblegum overtones that can make carbonic wines tiring. It felt like the fruit here was exceptionally good and pure and did remind me of very good granitic Beaujolais done in the same style. In the end, it’s simply a very good wine not just good for its category. Chill it or not. It will deliver pleasure.” “Whole bunch and carbonic maceration give a lovely bouquet of cherry, strawberry, subtle nuance of lavender and nicely wrapped with some confectionary aromas,” noted Patil. “This wine was lively, showing bright acidity, enjoyable and juicy. The fruit was just lingering on my palate, wanting me go back for a couple more pours.” “A lifted nose of sarsaparilla, burnt orange and raspberry soda, with herbaceous notes adding a savoury touch to the aromatics,” wrote Moret. “Blue and red fruited with plum liqueur, strawberry gum and vanilla bean on the palate. …Good weight and length, with a nice chewiness, from finely tuned tannins. A touch of bitter amaro on the finish. Extremely drinkable.” Dowling called it “a cracking attempt to do something different with this variety.” “This was a cool wine and really sat apart from most of the other wines in the line-up,” wrote Scanlon. “Big, confectioned blueberry jumping out of the glass with red fruits and heaps of violet florals. Lots of prickly stem/carbonic tannin immediately jumps out, then a big rush of sweet blue fruit and grape bubblegum happens, and it’s a bloody great time. The acidity is hydrating, which was nice to add a bit of balance to this. I was getting a big Beaujolais vibe from this, and I want more of this in my life.”
This was Dowling and Moret’s top wine. “Lovely clear and clean coloured wine, leading into an alluring nose of violets, rose petals, Turkish delight and potpourri,” wrote Dowling. “There’s life here! Gamey notes too – roast duck! The palate is quite different to many others in this line-up – lots of currants and dried cranberries, sour blueberries and rhubarb. Excellent. It builds and builds to become quite decadent as it fans across the palate, has a savoury backbone and a long and pleasing finish. Yes, the tannins are grippy and tight – could be a keeper – better in five years? Nice winemaking here.” “This came up near the end of the line-up and immediately jumped out at me,” noted Moret. “An attractive nose of strawberry gum, red liquorice, vanilla ice cream and Cherry Ripe bar (resplendent with chocolate, red cherry and lashings of coconut). Use of charred oak is weighted by concentrated fruit and gives overall balance to the wine. Lacy tannins give some structure to the playful, juicy fruit of this wine, which is reminiscent of blackberry crumble with shaved coconut notes. A lively style of barbera that is almost summery in nature.”
This sat just under Johns’ top pick for the tasting. “Crunchy red fruits, more like redcurrants with hints of confected notes of dried strawberries,” she wrote. “Overall, bright and fresh and amplified by some pretty floral and savoury back tea notes. A lovely vibrant full-fruited palate but a chirpy acid line that makes you want to eat! Something barbera should make you want to do.” Patil and Moret had this towards the middle of their top-six picks. “Intense black cherry, roasted walnut, cacao, herb garden aromas with cedar notes,” noted Patil. “Well concentrated sweet black cherry, hint of strawberry and raspberry fruit. Some dark chocolate flavours, fine loose-knit slinky texture, good depth and intensity.” “A subdued nose of boysenberry, violets, cocoa powder and sandalwood,” wrote Moret. “A very splashy and playful palate with lively acidity, balanced well by a concentration of blue fruits (think plums, blueberry) and floral notes. A nice rendition of barbera’s sweet and sour nature, with sour cherry, plum and chocolate notes framed by some chalky tannins.”
This was pipped for top spot on Sokolin’s list, while Scanlon and Moret also had it in their top six. “This was the best of the more ‘vinous’ styles in the line-up,” wrote Sokolin. “I found many of the more classically made wines in this tasting did suffer from subdued fruit and perhaps looked a bit tired. This one seemed to rise above its peers in bringing some depth to the picture, managing to keep a broad spectrum of fruit. It definitely had those deeper plum and dark cherry tones but didn’t lose the aromatic brightness and freshness… It’ll give you some bright rosehip or hibiscus tones to match the variety’s high acidity. It excels in sport and academics. Could run for mayor of a highly educated, upper-middle class suburb.” “I was drawn to this for the high acid and sweet/sour character,” noted Scanlon. “Red fruits and zippy acidity are the focus, but there was a watermelon and confectioned raspberry thing going on that I really vibed with. Mediumweight but the high acidity and sappy stem character gave it a lot of freshness. …Definitely not an ‘intellectual’ wine, just really, really yum.” “Ripe and sweet strawberries, violet, mace and cinnamon aromatics lead to a juicy, glossy palate with cranberry, spiced rum, stewed plums, and lavender,” wrote Moret. “The supple fruit is supported by chewy tannins that give depth and structure to the wine. Great length, stylish, and sure to be a crowd pleaser.”
Dowling, Patil and Sokolin all had this in their top-six lists. “Really lifted and aromatic, blue-fruited nose leading into violets, exotic spices, cherry cola and sarsaparilla,” wrote Dowling. Wow, a lot going on here. The palate is rich and spicy, some sweeter red fruits blasting through into a lush and generous mouth-filling glass of wine. I like the rusticity of this wine – it’s really primary but plays homage to Italy with a slightly savoury edge to the finish.” “Showcasing dark forest berries spectrum, hint of tobacco, forest floor, savoury, meaty, cherry and rosewood aromas,” noted Patil. “Elegant wine with supple tannins, well balanced with good depth and fruit intensity. Really enjoyed the lingering fruit flavours and aftertaste.” Halfway through this line-up, you would figure out what Barbera does and doesn’t do,” wrote Sokolin. “They will have acidity and alcohol, but the better wines delivered that flesh and mid-palate to bridge those attributes. Sixteen was Juicy and felt complete. You didn’t have to choose between plums and cherries; you get both. It feels like oak was used here to achieve this result, but it wasn’t overt and the wine was bottled before the barrels had a chance to dull the experience… A very good ambassador for the variety here.”
This appeared in the top-six lists of four panellists. “Italian hot chocolate was the first thing that I noticed on the nose, a very dark chocolate vibe,” wrote Moret. “Smoky barrels, cigar box and autumn leaves add to the aromatics, along with a floral component of violets and iris, and a hint of blueberry yoghurt. Reminds me of wintery smells and flavours – smoke, leaves, baked goods and chocolate. Plush fruit with dense fruit characters somewhat like cabernet – blackcurrant, blackberry and cedar. Mediumweight with glossy fruit and some grainy tannins, there’s a lot to like in this wine.” “This is immediately pretty with lifted violets, sharper red fruits like red cherries and some darker black cherry notes, too,” noted Johns. “That underlying leafy character is here again, but it is subtle and creates a nice savoury edge and an earthy feel. There’s a bit of chewy tannin here that is nicely in balance and the acidity is bright but due to the tannin the overall feel is quite textural.” “This is really different, with smoked meats/delicatessen/charcuterie and mushroom pâté on the nose, along with earthy and oaky tones,” observed Dowling “There’s some excellent savoury tannins here giving a nod to European examples.” “We’re back to a more vinous style here, and I suspect the winemaker wears a collared shirt to work,” wrote Sokolin. “It’s funny how many wines today didn’t feel fresh despite all showcasing hallmark barbera acidity. This didn’t suffer that affliction. This wine seemed compact and measured. Sensible but without losing all sex appeal. A carafe for lunch please.”
This was Johns’ top wine of the tasting, with Dowling also giving it a top-six finish. “There’s an authenticity of structure to this wine,” wrote Johns. “Generous warmer red fruits that are earthy and brambly with a hint of something almost like anise and notes of wet leaf. The fruit is rich, and the palate is full fruited and full bodied, but the acidity is bright and energetic and reminiscent of what barbera looks like in my head. A nice and well-made wine that does justice to the grape.” “The nose its brooding and intense, dark chocolate, cocoa, black forest cake and strawberry bubblegum,” noted Dowling. “The palate is quite blue fruited and intense, with slightly confected red fruits that match the mood of the wine. Some stewed rhubarb and strawberry compote notes suggest it’s pretty ripe, however it’s sewn together nicely by the natural acidity and the round tannins. Had some bells and whistles thrown its way for sure, but I feel the everyday punter would enjoy this wine for its lush ripe fruit and myriad flavours.”
This was Scanlon’s top wine of the tasting. “Bitter orange and rose petal aromatics, with some sweet spice like clove and cumin coming through underneath,” he wrote. “Sweet red cherries and bitter herbal aromatics jumping around those. Mediumweight, but with a real intensity and density to the fruit. Blood plum, confectioned raspberry and burned orange zest are wrapped up by some tight and prickly tannin. Some tart/ crisp acidity gives exciting freshness with a lick of grapefruit and tart cherry. Its bang on mediumweight but the fruit density gives it some richness that I found really enjoyable, and the touch of new oak softens the wine really well. It’s a pretty classy wine, probably the most balanced in the line-up.”
Johns, Patil and Moret all had this in their top-six selections. “Oak is more evident on the nose here but doesn’t overpower the sour cherries and darker earthier berry notes and some tobacco,” wrote Johns. “This carries to the palate, which is nicely balanced and shows an abundance of sweet fruit and some earthy spice.” “Intense ripe strawberry, red cherry fruits with roasted pine notes,” noted Patil. “Supple, silky textured wine with lovely mulberry fruits, chalky tannins, mid-palate viscosity and underlying oak flavours. Finishes long with crunchy acid.” “Hedonistic, charry oak usage comes through on the nose,” wrote Moret. “The aromas remind me of lamingtons – that combination of chocolate, coconut and jam! Acid keeps the exuberant fruit in check without being sour. The tannins lend themselves to this being a great food wine, with a rounded palate that shows strawberry and blackberry fruit enhanced by the warm spice of the oak.”
This was Patil’s second top wine of the entire line-up. “This is medium crimson in colour,” he wrote. “There’s buoyant fruit with a silky richness and an underlying light tannin vigour that gives an exceptional experience to this wine. For me, this was a fruit bomb that is loaded with red fruit. It’s an easy drinking and drink-now style of wine.”
“I was really taken by this wine,” wrote Scanlon as he placed it in the top half of his top six. “We’ve been playing around with lightweight, chillable red wine since 2014, and I always struggle to find a balance between ‘drinkability’ and being respectful of the variety. Often a wine will look like a big rosé or a structureless version of what a variety would typically look like. Straight away this one had sour cherry, cranberry, lavender, dried florals, like lilac, and some bitter herbal notes. But the palate was surprisingly weighted and leaning more towards darker fruits like plum and blackcurrant, but there was also a ferrous/ironstone mineral edge to this that was really impressive. The tannin structure was crunchy and moreish, just enough to hold together the punchy sweet fruit. I could easily drink this in large volumes with some chill, or I could sit and think about this wine with every glass. It’s a crushable banger but also highly representative of the variety, and the minerality suggests it’s representative of the place it was grown.”
“Almost half of the wines did seem like they were made in a way that barbera is meant to be made and often felt a flat for it,” wrote Sokolin as he placed this in the top half of his top six. “The fifth wine definitely did not suffer from tall barbera syndrome and, on a personal note, did lift my spirit a bit as I stared down the line-up of barberas I had to work through. This was a wine made with very minimal handling in that minimal intervention idiom. Perhaps seeing little or no sulphur. It was like a spiced plum wine with healthy undertone of forest floor. Explosively aromatic and savoury with plush fruit and really delicate florals and spice, likely from some stem inclusion, and some good tannin to keep the mouthfeel defined. It gave me things I didn’t expect this afternoon. You can chill it or not – it will deliver pleasure. I imagine there’s a cork closure on this bottle and likely some wax to drill through, but it’s worth it. Did I reward it for standing out? Perhaps. But it was really great to see a wine made in a style I enjoy from a variety I did not expect it from.”
Dowling had this in the top half of his top-six list. “Deep and dark colour, almost black,” he wrote. “The nose is really lifted; there’s peppermint there but in an alluring way not distracting from the red liquorice, black pepper and earthy tones – really interesting! Tons of fruit here – blue and red – with some exotic Chinese five spice and cinnamon notes sitting in the background. The acid is well placed here; it’s got some life and zing, with a serious amount of length and pleasingly grippy tannin. Would be fabulous to try this wine with food!”
“Gamey, deli meat reduction mixing with black liquorice, black plum and blackcurrant,” wrote Scanlon, giving this a top-six spot. “Some high-toast oak seemed to mix in really well with this and give complexity. The oak was pretty evident palate wise, but I like how it rounded the mouthfeel and it toned down the loud black-fruit characters. Acidity was on the lower end here, which was kind of pleasing after a serious of high acid wines. There was a pleasant mulberry and bramble feel to the tail end of the palate and salted liquorice character that lingered. Not really the kind of style of barbera that I would normally gravitate towards, but I found this a great example of the style. My dad would prefer if we made our wines more like this.”
“I often wonder what red wine is like for people who claim they don’t like red wine,” wrote Sokolin in giving this a top-six spot. “I imagine pouring this for guests and whispering, ‘It’s blueberry juice’ in their ears. ‘Wow, I don’t normally like red wine,’ they’ll say. I’d feel my ego swell and emerge a hero. This wine is almost comically aromatic. Another carbonic number and probably second only to number 17 [Spider Bill] in that style. Is it the right way to go with this barbera? I dunno. I’d imagine this would make my former colleagues in Piemonte cringe in protest in a pineapple-on-a-pizza in Naples kind of scenario. But I think, ultimately well-made styles like these are a great drink and breathe life into a variety.”
“The fruit speaks of raspberry, dried strawberry, black cherry, graphite, blueberries, liquorice and star anise,” wrote Patil as he gave this a top-six finish for his favourite wines of the tasting. “There is an injection of tobacco leaf and cigar box melding two worlds together. The tannins are supple and smooth, purely expressing the elegance of the wine.”
Scanlon picked this as one of his favourite wines of the day. “This wine stood for its really obvious crushed blue rock/gravel mineral character, sweet spices and salty plum aromas,” he wrote. “There was also a confectioned red liquorice thing that added some joy to the savoury aspect of this. Quite a bit going on, palate wise and jumped between deeper fruit notes like plum, black cherry and ripe blueberry. But there was also quite a bit of acidity and prickly tannin that moved the wine into a more ripe red-fruit spectrum like crunchy red apple and raspberry compote. The acidity was saline with a bit of green nettle and bitter grapefruit. The length was impressive and mouth-watering, I just wanted to drink more and eat some cured meats.”
Johns included this in her top-six list for the tasting. “I would never pick this as barbera, but not sure that matters when it can be so diverse in Australia,” she wrote. “This is super bright, with hints of orange peel and redcurrants with some sweet notes, that remind me weirdly of maple syrup, but also underlying hints of black tea and savoury earth. The palate is really sprightly, focused and underpinned with a driving acid line. It’s not a complicated wine, but it is delicious and has lots of sapidity and makes me want to eat!”
“When the site is great, the wines can age superbly.”
Barbera occupies the middle rung on the stepladder of the three key red grapes of arguably Italy’s most prestigious wine region: Piedmont. Tuscany may take umbrage at that, but when you look at the heights of quality of nebbiolo coming out of Barolo and Barbaresco, it’s a hard claim to refute. And while neither barbera nor the bottom-rung dweller, dolcetto, quite scale those heights, they are still significant players in the vinous identity of Piedmont.
The three grapes are different but complementary foils for vignerons, with the early ripening dolcetto often being a brightly fruited though often darkly hued and juicy offering meant for earlier consumption – though there are significant exceptions to this – and barbera generally being darkly coloured and deep fruited, and either pitched as an everyday wine or selected from cru sites and/or matured for lengthy periods in oak to present as more ‘noble’ bottlings.
A key difference between barbera and its kin is that it has a deficit of grape tannin, with the structural component leaning on a spine of intense acidity. Dolcetto has much more tannin, and substantially lower acidity, while nebbiolo has both acidity and tannin in spades. And while nebbiolo gets the limelight, dolcetto has about a third more plantings than it, while barbera has a threefold advantage, being by far Piedmont’s most planted grape, occupying 31 per cent of vineyard land.
Barbera’s dominance no doubt is due to its relative ease of maintenance in the vineyard and its reliably good yields. That it ripens a couple of weeks earlier than nebbiolo, thus avoiding late-season weather issues, and is suitable to be planted in the cooler sites that nebbiolo will struggle in no doubt also contribute to its volume kingship. As does the fact that it achieves a better tariff when elaborated into wine than dolcetto.
Historically, Barbera’s key zone and alleged birthplace is in the Monferrato Hills, with records dating back centuries, although there is some dispute to some of the oldest references, leaving its trail somewhat mysterious. Additionally, it has no genetic connection to other native Piedmont grapes, both major and minor. It is in fact quite removed, which is unusual for a grape so entrenched and synonymous with a region. Nonetheless, Barbera is certainly of local origin, with adoption into other regions a more modern phenomenon.
Barbera has travelled more meaningfully than dolcetto and nebbiolo, stretching across to the east in neighbouring Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy (where nebbiolo also has a small but meaningful foothold), with both regions respectively soaking up about 11 and 12 per cent of Italy’s plantings against Piedmont’s 67 per cent. The residual totals 1,800 hectares or so, a not insignificant tally, and a top-up that brings it into tenth place for Italy’s most planted grapes, both red and white.
That remaining barbera is scattered though Italy’s regions, with the most notable presence in the south-western region of Campania. Though it is allowed in other DOCs, it is both a prominent blending variety and can be bottled varietally under the Castel San Lorenzo DOC and Sannio DOC, which are the only DOCs outside the key growing regions that hero the grape. Having said that, barbera is still featured throughout the country, with an increasing interest coming from the south, principally Puglia, but it is clearly a grape that would suit any of the more arid zones.
That suitability comes from barbera’s natural tendency to high acidity, which is still amply present in warmer climates. The caveat being that it can tend to high yields, so reducing that production is necessary to maintain a balance between fruit and acidity. The vines are also drought tolerant, giving them another natural advantage. And while fungal diseases are not much of a concern in hot and dry climates, barbera has a reasonable resistance to disease, no doubt a function of its adaption to its cool and elevated birthplace in Piedmont where disease is a more pressing issue.
This versatility stands barbera in good stead to be a grape on the rise. Indeed, with vineyards devastated by phylloxera (a vine louse that ravaged European vineyards in the 19th century) and the impact of two World Wars, barbera was seen as a very good prospect to produce reliable, bountiful and quality crops, which saw its hectarage increase across the country.
And its properties have also seen it attract interest from the New World. It’s hardly become a leading player yet, but historically strong Italian immigration to South America has resulted in strong representation there, principally in the Argentinian regions of Mendoza and San Juan, with over 1,000 hectares planted.
But it is in the US that the largest concentration lies, with California – as it does for most grapes – taking the lion’s share of the plantings. Barbera was an early inclusion in American winegrowing, with plantings dating back to the late 19th century, but the boom time peaked around 1980 when there were around 8,500 hectares in California alone. Those plantings had much to do with wine legend Julio Gallo seeing its potential as a blending variety, putting the acidity, depth of flavour and inky colour to boost blends.
In other words, many of those plantings were devoted to bottlings where the variety was anonymous. And though Californian plantings had dramatically declined to a little over 2,000 hectares by 2016, the identity of the grape is arguably more robust, with varietal bottlings supplanting many of those uncredited blending inclusions in ‘jug’ wine.
Today, the viticultural resources of the University of California, Davis, boasts seven key clones of barbera, and it was one of these that first made the journey to Australia in the 1960s. That importation didn’t spark a boom, however, with the first serious attempt at growing barbera occurring in Mudgee in the mid-1970s.
That first foray in earnest was spearheaded by a young Carlo Corino, who was offered a job at the Montrose (Mudgee, NSW) start-up after a casual conversation in his native Piedmont. Corino didn’t access those Davis clones, rather he purportedly brought his own material in his suitcase, literal or figurative, along with sangiovese and nebbiolo. It was barbera that was the most successful in the warm climate, though, with the other two grapes foundering in the conditions.
Corino would spend a dozen years at Montrose, and though he had great success, his experimentation with Italian grapes was a little challenging for consumers of the day. Corino would go on to be one of Italy’s most famous consultant winemakers (notably at Sicily’s Settesoli and Planeta where he introduced modern techniques that helped revolutionise the wines of the region) before his untimely death at the age of 68 in 2007.
While sangiovese and nebbiolo overcame that rocky start to become imbedded in the modern Australian wine consciousness, barbera has had a bit of a slower rise. It’s not that plantings didn’t grow. They did, with the peak coming in 2004 at just shy of 200 hectares, but that was followed by a decline, with the last major grapevine survey in 2015 registering 110 hectares, albeit with some modest growth showing since 2012. But barbera has also struggled a little to find enough champions of the grape, unlike makers like Coriole with their long and deep immersion in sangiovese, or a league of Barolo-obsessed producers fine-tuning Australian nebbiolo.
That’s no to say that there aren’t makers consistently turning out fine examples, but simply that it hasn’t been of a scale that has quite captured the imagination of the broader drinking public – yet. Makers like the Hunter Valley’s Margan are certainly changing that script, with plantings being increased to accommodate demand that dwarfs their current supply. Also based in the Hunter, David Hook makes three examples, from the Central Ranges, Orange and a ‘Reserve’ example from the Hunter, pushing the essential message of regional expression.
The Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale are also growing in reputation as strong homes for the variety. It is, however, in the Riverina that most plantings are concentrated, with almost 70 per cent of Australia’s barbera vines. The King Valley comes in second place, but a somewhat distant one, with 9 per cent.
Kara Maisano, sommelier at Carlton’s Masani, foresees a strong future for barbera, which is partly based on her appreciation for the versatility of Italian expressions. “Although nebbiolo was always under the spotlight, barbera kept drawing my attention,” she says. “I often see two styles of barbera – fruity and tangy red fruits with bright acidity or moreish and rounded dark berry fruits with baking spices. I don’t feel one style is necessary better than the other; it simply gives me diversity within the category that I can pair with rich or lighter dishes as well as the customers’ palate or mood.”
“Diners find barbera approachable and enjoyable both aromatically and structurally. It’s straightforward and delicious. Barbera’s signature high acidity and low tannin are very appealing to today’s diners.”
That style variation is often both due to different growing zones, but also to the separation between wines raised in stainless steel or in oak for an extended period. “Thankfully, today’s wines have backed away from the new oak that was once considered necessary to counter the grapes naturally low tannin,” says Matt Paul, director of one of Australia’s premier importers of Italian wines, Trembath & Taylor. “Barbera is on high rotation at my house, especially over the cooler months. I like the way the grape offers that rich plump blue-fruits feel with juicy freshness.”
That use of oak is both much loved and much derided, but there is certainly a trend away from the more overt expressions in Italy, and though there are many examples in this country that marry oak with plush fruit, there is equally a focus on more lithe and crunchy expressions. “New oak can add power and richness but can also mask some of the varietal character,” echoes Maisano.
Maisano is convinced by the potential of local expressions, having championed them for over a decade. “The first barbera I ever purchased for the list was the Quartier label made by Sandro Mosele,” she says. “It was fairly ground-breaking at the time, from the Mornington Peninsula, and it had those signature red cherry notes and crunchy acidity, which customers loved by the glass.”
That’s not to say that diners didn’t need some initial encouragement. “It was neither light nor full-bodied, but definitely a hand sell, as big heady reds, namely shiraz and cabernet were still the height of fashion,” says Maisano. It is at the table, though, that she says the wines really blossom. “Pairings at Masani have included beef carpaccio with truffle cream and exotic mushrooms; pappardelle with wild hare and Venetian spices, citrus-roasted Aylesbury duck with grappa pears and veal ossobuco alla Milanese, or with full-flavoured cheeses such as pecorino or Époisses de Bourgogne…”
“Barbera is on high rotation at my house, especially over the cooler months. I like the way the grape offers that rich plump blue-fruits feel with juicy freshness.”
That connection to food is one impossible to ignore with Italian grapes, even with the profile of barbera that doesn’t have the commonly rugged tannins of many Italian red varieties, where food is essential. “At the table, the acidity and fresh fruit in the young wines, made without oak, are great with pizza – if you’re not a beer drinker like me,” says Paul. “Stepping up from there, I like barbera with pasta dishes such as tajarin with ragù and also braised meat.”
Paul also points out that if we look to Italy, the potential for barbera in this country shouldn’t be underestimated. “When the site is great, the wines can age superbly,” he says, noting that this is becoming less and less the case “in Barolo and Barbaresco, as more wineries push dolcetto and barbera out in favour of nebbiolo.”
There is no doubt that our quest to find an Australian identity for barbera is in its infancy, and in many respects more so than some grapes that have been cultivated for less time, but there is an increasing level of diversity in the expressions on the market, from regions both cool and somewhat arid, and across styles from the light and crunchy to the plush and silky. “Diners find barbera approachable and enjoyable both aromatically and structurally,” says Maisano. “It’s straightforward and delicious. Barbera’s signature high acidity and low tannin are very appealing to today’s diners.”
Our panel: Mitch Sokolin, Winemaker Eleven Sons and Owner Manager Gray and Gray; Prasad Patil, winemaker Dal Zotto Wines; Abbey Moret DipWSET, owner Atlas Vinifera; Patrick Dowling, On-Premise National Sales Manager for Domaine Wine Shippers; Natasha Johns DipWSET, owner/director Primavera Selections; Lawrence Scanlon, winemaker/owner Dirty Black Denim and partner of Theodore’s Refreshment Service. All wines were tasted blind.
“I started my winemaking career in Piemonte,” said Sokolin. “And barbera was a variety I learnt not to like at the end of my stint there. It was difficult to work with. It always seemed to get very ripe, had a lot of acid, and it sometimes lacked on the palate or mouthfeel… it didn’t have much tannin. So, it was always hard to tame. It was put in this Piedmontese box of long ageing, and when it came out of barrel it was maybe a bit tired, really acidic and boozy. I got quite tired of it. But this tasting was really interesting because I saw a few wines in the line-up that followed that tradition or that recipe, and then there were some that completely didn’t. And I’d never seen that with barbera before. And that was really refreshing.”
“We saw the breadth from light and eucalypt and minty to the super charged, which perhaps looks like they’re from a big company with a bit of gloss thrown at them,” added Dowling.
“There was a spectrum there,” Sokolin continued. “There’s something about barbera when it is picked riper and aged in oak. I used to think it was an anise character, but it’s not quite there. It’s more a 1990s car upholstery smell. Growing up in the States, it’s maybe a Ford Taurus… a Holden Commodore might be the equivalent.”
“The difference I see between Piedmont and a lot of the wines that we saw today is that outside of that sweet, high-alcohol fruit, there is an underlying savoury nature,” commented Johns. “Especially from the broader Langhe, rather than more specifically in Asti, which is brighter fruited and spicy. With this, I feel like there was a lot of sweet fruit, and I didn’t quite see the same chirpy nature with the acidity that you see in Piedmont.”
“There were a few examples where barbera would be the last variety I would think of after putting my nose into them, which is great, cool.”
“There were a few examples where barbera would be the last variety I would think of after putting my nose into them, which is great, cool,” added Sokolin. “And there were some that were picked a bit riper and aged in oak, which maybe dulled that fruit. There was quite a diversity in this line-up, which is good to see. It’s good to see that you can do more with barbera, especially after I saw just one thing for so many years.”
“This variety should work in Australia,” noted Dowling. “You can do lots with it, and it has gritty tannin not dissimilar to grenache, though sometimes that stands out in the wrong way. It has high acid, and it’s so primary. I always thought when I first got exposed to it in the 90s that it should work here. It’s got all the hallmarks of what Aussies like about sunshine in a glass. But it’s hard to bring the bits together to make it feel balanced. You have all these pieces, but it’s often not coming together as a nice whole.”
“I thought that there were a lot of disjointed wines,” agreed Moret, “and I don’t think there were often clear ‘tells’ of variety. There were several sweet and sour wines that had no rounding to them to bring everything together. But there were also super-friendly likeable wines. The kind of wine you could give most red wine drinkers and they would really enjoy it because it’s not too heavy, not too tannic, with concentration and plush weight. It can be a really good crowd pleaser – and it should be. And I found examples today that ticked all the boxes and were really welcoming styles that were great for drinkers who are looking for something different, rather than just drinking shiraz.”
“It can be a really good crowd pleaser – and it should be. And I found examples today that ticked all the boxes and were really welcoming styles that were great for drinkers who are looking for something different, rather than just drinking shiraz.”
“For me, I tended to lean towards the richer styles because they managed to fulfill the middle palate,” added Dowling. “Having said that, I really dug that carbonic number. It was the wine out of the whole thing that was out of the blue.”
“I think these wines are standing out really well, whether easy drinking full-bodied styles or more midweight,” said Patil. “And I really like all the styles. I think we are seeing differences in the wines from the different soil and climate conditions as well as the way the various clones perform. From a winemaking perspective, there have been a lot of different techniques used across these wines. I think it was a really good showing of all those different factors.”
“I think we are seeing differences in the wines from the different soil and climate conditions as well as the way the various clones perform. From a winemaking perspective, there have been a lot of different techniques used across these wines. I think it was a really good showing of all those different factors.”
“I don’t drink a lot of Australian barbera; I drink Italian barbera,” admitted Moret. “And I think it’s a really great variety to introduce Australian drinkers to Italy – it’s got that plushness, the alcohol weight, it takes to oak, but it’s got acid and it’s not this huge jammy thing. It could be much more commercially successful here, and it makes me wonder why it’s not.”
“Is there a problem in Australia that we don’t have a touchpoint of a brand or region that we know where the best barbera comes from?” mused Dowling. “It’s weird. I would have thought barbera would have been something cool to pick up for the more modern, younger maker to make lo-fi and unfiltered… I wonder why it hasn’t really pushed more into that genre of makers.”
“I think it has an incredible future in Australia.”
“Instantly, we were drawn to light red,” said Scanlon, in reference to the more modern styles that he makes. “We wanted to make light, chillable wines. And we kind of fell in love with it a bit. This year we picked it a bit later and threw a little bit of oak at it, and it looks a bit in that gamay mould, light to medium weighted. It stayed in that red fruit spectrum, but we were able to drop the acid a bit. But the chilled reds are very much in that sweet/sour, high acid, red fruited, really tight. “
“I think there’s plenty of opportunity to make barbera into compellingly different New World styles,” added Moret. “I have always said so. With so many Italian varieties having that inherent tannin to them, and when Australians are starting their red wine journey, they often start with bigger fruited softer styles. As soon as you start to introduce Italian tannins, it can get pretty hardcore, especially with Piemonte. Nebbiolo and dolcetto are very tannic, but barbera has an inherently consumer friendly profile to it.”
“Barbera looked like riesling every time we went out to do maturity reports, so it kind of has to be picked kind of late,” said Scanlon. ‘But a lot of the wines in those early brackets leant into the acidity, and it worked. The sour nature of a lot of those wines I thought was really cool.”
“Some of the wines were not very heavily worked, and some of those wines that were in the light/chillable red area would become clunky if you overemphasised oak or stemmy characters,” added Johns. “I think if the fruit is picked a bit earlier in that crunchy spectrum, rather than becoming too plush or ripe, then you could make some really dynamic wines that a lot of people would be really interested in. They mightn’t be wines that you analyse, but just something really delicious.”
“Some of the wines needed a chill, and with that acidity, I think that sour side would drop away, and they would become more punter friendly,” noted Scanlon. “I thought the softer wines were the most simple, and I didn’t understand the point of them. I think the ones that looked like they were obviously made to be rich and friendly were boring. I leant into the ones that had a bit of acid and tannin and were lighter bodied, and I would like to see those with a bit of chill on them.”
“It’s really versatile, isn’t it,” concluded Moret. “It can be a light chilled red or in that pretty gamay weight or a warmer, riper red. But it’s about tailoring the winemaking to properly produce these different styles. I think it has an incredible future in Australia.”
Mitchell Sokolin left his native New York and a background in retail to pursue a career as a “vagabond winemaker”. The last 12 years with grapes have brought him long stints in Barolo, the remote western reaches of Spain, France, Ukraine, Georgia and of course Victoria, where he currently produces wine under the label, Eleven Sons. He is co-owner and manager of Gray and Gray in Northcote.
Abby Moret has been working in the retail wine industry since she was 18, including working in London for Majestic Wine, gaining her WSET Level 3 Certificate while there. She was the Promotional Manager of Vintage Cellars, before moving into buying and product development for the national chains. After gaining her WSET Diploma, Abby founded Atlas Vinifera in 2017, an independent, boutique wine bar and wine store in Richmond that specialises in small-batch, interesting, hand-crafted and cult wines from all over the world.
Patrick Dowling has had a successful career in the wine industry at state, national and international level, incorporating selling, sales team management, marketing, brand management, distributor management, vintage work, judging and ambassadorial work. Dowling has a wine marketing degree from Adelaide University, has managed a portfolio of brands for the Joval Wine Group, and been an ambassador for Penfolds in South-East Asia, the Middle East and Africa. He is currently the On-Premise National Sales Manager for Domaine Wine Shippers.
Natasha Johns has worked in the wine industry for over 15 years, primarily in sales and marketing roles, and most recently as the Brand Manager for iconic labels Shaw + Smith and Tolpuddle. She is the owner/director of Primavera Selections, a key importer of Italian wine, while also consulting on restaurant wine lists. Johns is a holder of the prestigious WSET Diploma.
Prasad Patil is a winemaker at Italian variety specialist Dal Zotto Wines in Victoria’s King Valley. Prior he had worked at Ramey Family Winery in Sonoma County, California, as part of the CAEP international exchange program.
Lawrence Scanlon came to winemaking from the hospitality side, with lengthy stints running venues such as the Alps for Lyndon Kubis (Toorak Cellars, The Moon, The Hills, Milton etc.), along with a tenure at Italian wine and food temple Enoteca Sileno, amongst other front of house gigs. Along the way he has worked at Clyde Park, Oakridge, Sally’s Paddock, Galli Estate, Wilimee and Chalmers, swapping between cellar and vineyard work. His lo-fi winemaking project Dirty Black Denim was born in 2014 in league with his brother, Tim. Lawrence is also a partner in Theodore’s Refreshment Centre in Brunswick.
Starting out is not always easy for a new wine project, with some makers taking years before taking the solo leap, while others tumble in headfirst with limited experience but a firm vision and a whole lot of chutzpah. Amongst the new labels in the YGOW Awards 2021 Top 50, Château Comme Ci, Comme Ça, Worlds Apart Wines, Sven Joschke, Tillie J and Cavedon. Tasting notes appear at the end of the article.
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