Barbera d'Asti d.o.c. Superiore
refined in Barrique

Technical data
Property	Description
Growing location:	Costigliole d'Asti.
Grape:	Barbera.
Colour:	ruby red, intense, tending towards garnet red with ageing.
Bouquet:	intense, distinctive, evanescent.
Taste:	dry, body, harmonious and round with a pleasantly woody taste after ageing.
Minimum overall strength:	13,5% vol.
Ageing:	24 months from l st Ocotber after the harvest With at least 6 months in oak casks and a 6 month bottle refinement.
Tasting temperature:	16-18°C.

Characteristics

This is an elegant, top-quality wine that combines fruit and spices in a confirmation of the richness that is concentrated in the Barbera grape traditionally grown on the hills of Piedmont and so highly-valued by the local cellars.

Origins and production

This wine is grown on the hills of Costigliole in the centre of the Monferrato area around Asti, where Cà du Ciuvin selects the richest grapes each year. After delicate crushing the must ferments in contact with the skins for 8-10 days at a constant temperature. Racking is followed by a few months' ageing in large tanks and then in barriques (5-6 months). The wine is bottled in August and is stored for several months before being placed on sale.
About 2,000 bottles are produced annually.

Qualities

A wine with big, precious features passed on by prestigious origins and a production system that brings out its qualities to the utmost. It has a ruby-red colour with frequent garnet highlights, a nose blending fragrance with vanilla - a sign of its time in oak - and a full, intense, well-balanced taste of good structure.

Serving

Such a full-bodied, complex Barbera d'Asti demands crystal goblets to spread out its form and substance in. Best served at 16-18°C. with important dishes, meat main courses and mature cheeses.