As we round out these last months of the year our Italian Food, Wine and Travel group is facing the 3 B’s head on: Brunello, Barbaresco and ending the year with Barolo. This month as we feature Barbaresco I’m readdressing a winery I shared earlier this year, Vite Colte. I had attended a virtual tasting around the time last year sponsored by Vite Colte and had yet to share their Barbaresco that I sampled so this was the perfect opportunity to do so.
The Winery
You can revisit my previous blog post on Vite Colte where I shared a couple of their Barbera d’Asti bottles. Vite Colte, is a cooperative winery, located in the Piedmont wine region set in the Langhe. Vite Colte falls under the umbrella of parent company Terre da Vino and was established about 10 years ago. The aim was to build a network of small farmers with quality as the main focus. Today the cooperation consists of about 194 growers with acreage covering over 740 acres.
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| From Vite Colte's site |
The beautifully architected winery, by Gianni Arnaudo with sustainability at the core, was built in 2000 and is set amongst some of the cru selection sites of Barolo. The growers and vineyards are selected by a strict criteria shared on their site:
Low yields
Healthy plant nutrition
Pruning based on buds
Manual vegetation management
Hand harvesting
Sustainable practices with organic and/or integrated viticulture
The growers work closely with winemaker Bruno Cordero and vineyard manager Danielle Eberle to produce the highest quality fruit.
The Wine
Vite Colte makes riserva wines in only the best vintages which equates to about two to three times every 10 years and are released onto the market only after ten years. Quite the investment!
The 2010 Barbaresco Riserva “Spezie” DOCG is grown in soils made of fossil marls and clay. The fermentation lasts about 20 days with malolactic fermentation in oak for 2 years and an additional 12 months in the bottle. The color was garnet with aromas of red fruits and some spice. What I love about Barbaresco is its femininity. Barolo is always claimed to be the more masculine of the two, but that is what makes me appreciate Barbaresco. Full-bodied with a solid structure. Moderate tannin stand strong for the 2010 vintage, but nice concentration and elegance drinking well with still time left in the bottle. ABV 14.5% SRP $65-70
Join the rest of our Barbaresco food and wine lovers as they share their suggested wines and pairings. Catch us live for a chat on Twitter this Saturday at 11am EST @ #ItalianFWT. See you there!
- Wendy with A Day in the Life on the Farm shares Pure Comfort~~Roast Chicken, Wild Rice Pilaf, and a Glass of Barbaresco Wine
- Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares Risotto ai Tre Funghi, Rosticciana al Forno, + Fontanafredda Silver Label Barbaresco 2015
- Lynn of Savor the Harvest is Reaching for Barbaresco Basarin with Marco and Vittorio Adriano
- Susannah of Avvinare is Exploring The Beauty of Barbaresco
- Marcia of Joy of Wine is pairing Hearty Beef Stew and Barbaresco
- Martin of Enofylz Wine Blog has a 2017 Riva Leone Barbaresco Paired With Italian Fare and Friends
- Gwendolyn Alley of Wine Predator shares Affordable Riva Leone Barbaresco Meets Bolognese
- Nicole of Somm’s Table will share An Anniversary Celebration with La Spinetta Vursu Gallina Barbaresco and Braised Spatchcocked Duck
- Robin of Crushed Grape Chronicles, will be sharing Barbaresco and Thanksgiving Flavors
From a quality perspective co-ops sometimes get a bad rap. It's great to see you highlight a co-op that is so quality focused. I'm sure it shows in the glass - The wine sounds wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI love that this is a sustainable wine. I, like you, enjoy Barbaresco also for its elegance and nuance
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