2010 Franco Serra Barbera d’Alba
We had this wine a while back with a minestrone I made. We picked it up at Plum Market for $10, and when I checked some of the reviews on Cellartracker later, they seemed quite unanimous in that this wine is better with food than on its own. So when we had minestrone with our friends, I decided to pop the bottle.
I am still very puzzled by it. I am not very familiar with wines from Northern Italy, and given that we were having a feast, I also did not bother to properly taste it and take notes. What I can say is that it worked marvelously with the tomato based minestrone I had made, giving it an herbal depth and adding distinct earthy flavors. On its own, it seemed quite tannic and acidic and I also found some slight bitter notes, but with the food this bitterness vanished. I simply could not wrap my head around this one, it was intriguing. I will probably pick up some more bottles, because I like to make minestrone throughout winter, and I really thought this pairing worked very nicely. Would not have thought that when I first tasted the wine. I definitely agree that it should be paired with hearty food.
the winegetter 