La Spinetta Barbera d’Asti Superiore Bionzo 2018

The Barbera d’Asti DOCG Bionzo from the La Spinetta winery is a still red wine produced in Costigliole d’Asti, in the heart of the upper Monferrato, in an area where the rolling hills of the Langhe and lush forests share the scene with the placid Tanaro River. The Barbera d’Asti DOCG Bionzo was born about forty years ago from qualitative research that saw the Asti area as a new and prolific frontier for the cultivation of the Barbera grape. This wine is characterized by a small but curious distinctive feature: the label features a woodcut by the German artist Albrecht Dürer depicting a rhinoceros. The area’s continental climate is characterized by strong temperature variations and very little rainfall, while the soil is calcareous with sedimentary rocks. Despite its relatively recent origins, Barbera d’Asti DOCG Bionzo comes from vines that are approximately 60 years old. The vineyards, facing south at approximately 300 meters above sea level, are trained using the Guyot system without the use of pesticides or herbicides. The result is very small but superior-quality bunches. The harvest takes place between the end of September and the first week of October. After carefully selecting only the finest bunches, the alcoholic fermentation begins in the cellar in rotofermenters. After a week, the must begins a slow aging process, initially in wooden barriques for approximately 18 months, followed by a further refinement in steel tanks, followed by three months of bottle aging.