Claudio Mariotto Colli Tortonesi Barbera Monleale 2021

Claudio Mariotto Colli Tortonesi Barbera Monleale 2021 is a characterful Piedmont red that shows just how serious Barbera can be outside the more famous appellations. Grown on the hills around the village of Monleale, this wine combines vibrant fruit with real depth and structure, making it ideal for the dinner table and for a few years in the cellar. It’s a Barbera that leans more toward elegance and terroir expression than simple, easy-drinking charm. The key attraction here is the balance: lively acidity and bright red fruit wrapped in fine tannins and a subtle savory edge. Compared with many Barbera d’Asti or d’Alba, Monleale often gives slightly cooler, more mineral tones, and this bottling is a great example of that style. Barbera has a long history in the Colli Tortonesi, and producers like Claudio Mariotto have been instrumental in restoring the historic reputation of these hills as a source of distinctive, ageworthy wines.

Tasting Notes
In the glass, the 2021 Monleale shows a deep, vibrant ruby core with youthful purple hues at the rim, signaling its freshness and energy. It’s clean and bright, with good concentration of color that hints at the intensity to come. The nose is expressive and precise, with notes of sour cherry, wild raspberry, and black plum layered over violet, dried herbs, and a faint hint of licorice. With a little air, subtle spice (think white pepper and clove), a touch of forest floor, and a gentle earthy minerality emerge, giving the wine a savory, complex profile beyond pure fruit. On the palate, this Barbera is medium to full-bodied, driven by Barbera’s hallmark acidity, which keeps the dark and red fruit flavors lively and mouthwatering. Juicy cherry, blackberry, and red currant are supported by polished tannins and a fine, stony backbone, with a slight balsamic and spicy note on the mid-palate. The finish is long, clean, and refreshing, with lingering cherry, subtle cocoa, and a saline, mineral edge that invites another sip. The 2021 vintage drinks beautifully now for its vibrant fruit and structure but has the stuffing for short- to mid-term aging. Over the next 5–7 years, it should gain complexity, with the fruit softening and the savory and tertiary notes—dried flowers, leather, and earth—becoming more prominent.

Production
The grapes for this Barbera Monleale come from the rolling hills of the Colli Tortonesi in southeastern Piemonte, an area marked by clay-limestone soils and a cooler, breezy climate that helps retain freshness and aromatic precision. The vineyards typically sit on well-exposed slopes, which promotes excellent ripening while the calcareous subsoils contribute structure and a subtle mineral character. Harvesting is usually done by hand to allow careful selection of perfectly ripe, healthy Barbera bunches. In the cellar, Claudio Mariotto favors a relatively traditional, low-intervention approach: gentle crushing, followed by fermentation in temperature-controlled tanks to preserve aromatics, and a reasonably long maceration to extract color, flavor, and fine tannins. The wine is then aged—often partly in neutral wood and/or tank—allowing it to harmonize, gain texture, and develop complexity without being overwhelmed by oak, keeping the focus firmly on the grape and the Tortona terroir.

Food & Serving
This Barbera is a highly versatile food wine and shines with rich, savory dishes. Think classic northern Italian fare: tajarin with ragù, lasagna, mushroom risotto, sausage with lentils, or braised beef and pork dishes. It also pairs beautifully with grilled meats, roast chicken, pizza with cured meats, and aged hard cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano, as well as semi-hard cheeses and charcuterie. Serve at about 16–18°C (60–64°F) to highlight its fruit and structure; slightly cooler for lighter dishes, a touch warmer for hearty stews and roasts. A brief decant of 30–45 minutes is recommended for the 2021 vintage to let the wine open up aromatically and soften the youthful edges of its tannins.

Producer
Claudio Mariotto is one of the key names in the Colli Tortonesi, a family-run estate that has helped put this lesser-known corner of Piemonte back on the quality wine map. While the winery is often celebrated for its work with Timorasso, an indigenous white variety, Mariotto has long championed Barbera from Monleale as a serious, terroir-driven red capable of depth, elegance, and aging. Working with hillside vineyards and focusing on low yields, careful vineyard work, and straightforward, respectful winemaking, the estate has become a reference point for the Tortona area. Their wines regularly feature in the selections of discerning Italian restaurants and specialty wine shops, confirming Claudio Mariotto’s status as an important voice in the modern renaissance of Colli Tortonesi wines.

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