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Producer
Dal Zotto -
Region
King Valley
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RRP
$85
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Vintage
2021
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Variety/Varieties
Barbera
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Alc./Vol.
13.7%
Cherries, raspberries and plums up front, with savoury notes of cured meat, cinnamon and autumn leaves running through. The palate is bright and a little tart, all strawberry and fine, silky tannin, finishing long and savoury. Light on its feet, but with real presence.
Barbera is Piedmont’s most planted red grape, yet it’s forever cast as the middle child — overshadowed by nebbiolo, which makes Barolo and Barbaresco, and dismissed alongside dolcetto, whose name literally means “the little sweet one.” Michael Dal Zotto became fascinated with the variety after working vintages in Italy alongside the region’s powerful, patience-demanding Barolos; barbera’s willingness to be drunk young, and its knack for holding onto natural acidity even in warm conditions, made him see real potential for it back home in Victoria’s King Valley — itself a region shaped by generations of Italian immigrant winegrowing families, the Dal Zottos among them.
Dal Zotto makes two barberas, built as genuine opposites: an everyday drop matured for under a year in old oak, and this one, L’Immigrante, hand-selected from lower-yielding vines and fermented with around a third whole-bunch fruit for extra layers and dimension. It spends twelve months in larger-format oak followed by another twelve in smaller barrels, building structure and savoury depth well beyond the entry-level wine. Where the everyday version is a midweek pour, this one is built for the nights that call for truffles.
Tasting note
A seductive perfume of cherry, raspberry and plum meets equally pronounced savoury notes — bresaola, cinnamon, clove, autumn leaves — with a light ruby colour edged in garnet and orange, and a nose that carries a shy berry note under leather and smoke. The palate catches you off guard: bright, tart strawberry fruit arrives first, before savoury elements of miso and dried mushroom take over, trailing into black pepper, dried herbs and a long, parmesan-like finish. It feels light-bodied on first impression, but there’s real frame here — a taut acid line and fine, smooth tannin holding everything together, with a dry finish that has you reaching for the next glass before you’ve quite decided to.
When to drink it
Don’t let the “good glassware” line fool you into thinking this one needs a fancy meal to justify itself. It’s a light expression of red, and it drinks beautifully all on its own — no food required. It’s something that can be contemplated, or not — up to you. That said, if you do want to put something alongside it, its acid and fine tannin will happily handle richer, truffle-tinged dishes too. Or throw it at some pizza! It’s also the wine to pour for the Barolo-loving father-in-law or uncle at the table who has absolutely no idea barbera can get this good — let him figure it out for himself.
Themes of this wine
Barbera
Barbera is Piedmont’s workhorse red, the most widely planted grape in the region despite living permanently in the shadow of nebbiolo’s Barolo and Barbaresco. Its calling card is a rare combination: naturally high acidity that holds up even as sugar ripens, paired with soft, approachable tannins, making it a grape that rewards both easy, youthful drinking and, in the right hands, more serious ageing. Outside Italy it remains uncommon, but its resilience and adaptability are drawing growing interest from producers in warmer climates.
King Valley
Tucked into Victoria’s high country north-east of Melbourne, the King Valley owes much of its wine identity to Italian immigrant families who settled the region from the 1950s onward, bringing Old World varieties with them long before “alternative varieties” became a buzzword in Australian wine. Elevation across the valley varies significantly, from warmer valley floors to cooler, higher sites, giving growers real flexibility in what they plant and where.
Whole-bunch fermentation
Including a portion of whole grape clusters — stems included — in the ferment is a deliberate way of adding complexity beyond straightforward fruit character. Stems contribute their own tannin structure and can lift savoury, spicy and aromatic layers in the finished wine, generally at some cost to overt fruitiness. Used at around a third here, the technique is a key part of what separates this more serious, structured barbera from Dal Zotto’s lighter, everyday version.
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