Widely considered to be one of the most intense and complex Barbera’s out of Piedmont, Luciano Sandrone fashions a Barbera D’Alba that will knock your socks off, always polished, inky and plumb with structure and definition to hold for many years in the cellar. The Barbera’s and Dolcetto’s of the greatest producers of Piedmont are a fascinating way to discover the wines of the masters without the weighty price tag of Barolo.
2016 Luciano Sandrone Barbera D’Alba
$44.95 per bottle – six packs
A polished, plush, ripe style of Barbera, with spicy overtones to the core of plum and blackberry fruit. Firm and balanced, though this could use a few months to integrate more fully. Fine length. Drink now through 2023.
91 points – Wine Spectator
Acclaim for Sandrone
“From his first vintage in 1978 Luciano Sandrone set out to make a more approachable and drinkable Barolo. No one has managed to bridge tradition and innovation as brilliantly as Sandrone, rendering pointless any of the typical arguments in favor of one winemaking philosophy versus the other. Over the years Sandrone has turned out a stunning group of wines, often reaching stratospheric heights. Although Sandrone’s wines are accessible when young, they also age beautifully as is demonstrated by the wines from the 1980s. Yet as magical as the older wines can be, Sandrone believes his recent releases are even better, saying “today we know so much more about how to work in the vineyards and in the cellar.” Vinous
“I can’t think of too many producers in Piedmont (or anywhere, for that matter) that have been as consistently brilliant over that arc of time” Vinous