Barbera D'Alba Superiore ELAINE 2012

Filippo Gallino Barbera d’Alba Superiore ELAINE 2012 is a rich, powerful and beautifully mature expression of Barbera from the Roero hills, produced from 100% Barbera in the commune of Canale. The vineyards are rooted in the characteristic light-coloured sandy, calcareous and clay-rich soils of the Roero, which give the wine both aromatic finesse and the lively acidity typical of the variety. ELAINE takes its name from a relative of the Gallino family who emigrated to California before eventually returning to the family’s historic Valle del Pozzo.

The 2012 vintage now shows the depth and complexity that come with extended bottle age, while retaining the naturally vibrant acidity that is one of Barbera’s greatest strengths. The bouquet is generous and developed, with ripe red and dark berries, plum and dried cherry, complemented by violet, sweet spice, vanilla, leather and subtle earthy and woody notes. On the palate it is full-bodied, warm and remarkably smooth, with the wine’s substantial 16% alcohol surprisingly well integrated into the ripe fruit and acidity. The texture is rounded and generous rather than heavily tannic, while the long, savoury finish reveals increasingly complex notes of spice, dried fruit and mature oak.

The grapes are harvested by hand and traditionally fermented with approximately 7–10 days of maceration and regular manual pump-overs to extract colour, fruit and structure. Following fermentation, the wine is matured in large 25-hectolitre oak barrels for around 12 months, allowing the oak to contribute gentle notes of spice and leather without overwhelming the Barbera’s natural fruit character. With more than a decade of bottle age, the 2012 should now be enjoyed as a mature, gastronomic Barbera, where its combination of ripe fruit, acidity, savoury complexity and integrated alcohol makes it particularly well suited to braised and roasted meats, game, rich pasta dishes, charcuterie, truffles and mature cheeses. This is a Barbera for slow drinking, with considerably more depth and development than a young, fruit-driven example.