Barbera D'alba Bric Loira 1999

[brappy]

Barbera D'alba Bric Loira 1999
alc 14%
Did not decant; just opened and poured.

Color: Dark candy red
Nose: cherries, dried currants, small hint of caramel or tofee

Palate: very tannic, more dried red currant, also concentrated dried cherries on the back of the palate. There's something else on the palate I can't identify.

I asked my wife to smell and taste. Directly after smelling she said "Peroxide". After tasting she said she couldn't get past the peroxide to taste anything else. So, I went back to my desk, smelled for alcohol vapors.......nothing. It's not alcohol, but maybe a bit of unidentifiable funk of some sort. Not in a bad way, but maybe just... interesting. I'm going to let this one sit for an hour, then see what happens.

Just over an hour later and the funk is gone, not 100%, but close. The fruit has really come alive and seems almost youthful, or at least more youthful than I expected. Tannins are still a bit rough so, I hope I'm not making a mistake, but I'm going to decant the last half of the bottle.

Half hour later and just tasted again. Wow, what a difference. The "Funk" is completely gone. The tannins are still present but have softened. There is now some earth and a touch of mineral to the nose and palate. The fruit is very concentrated.

I've tasted several Barbera D'albas before but never took the wine seriously and never took notes. This wine was suggested from a wine merchant that I've grown to trust. (She's not always on, but I respect her judgement and knowledge.) Next time, I'll know better how to approach this wine. What a nice grape; I can't wait to do this again.

BTW, I believe the "Funk" was just the ulage (sp) blowing off but I could be wrong.

mark