2006 Sonoma Valley
Barbera
Appellation Selection
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The Vineyards
Barbera has long been a tradition in Sebastiani winemaking. August Sebastiani produced the first Barbera from Sonoma County in 1962; it was one of his favorite wines. Thanks to his pioneering efforts, we’ve amassed over 40 years of winemaking experience with Barbera in California and discovered that the best site for growing this grape is in the warmer, mid-Sonoma Valley region with its terra rosa soils. Therefore, we sourced our Barbera grapes from the Bedrock Vineyard (formerly Madrone) in the Sonoma Valley, a site with this ideal terroir.
The Vineyards:
The 2006 vintage was a cooler-than-average vintage. The extended maturation and lower yields gave us a Barbera with more depth of blackcherry fruit than in the past. We held out until it was completely ripe at 27.4 Brix, all necessary to reduce acidity and green tannins. Fortunately, we had little rain and a mild warm spell in October. We harvested the grapes October 25 th . |
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 Winemaking
After initial fermentation in stainless steel tanks, the wine was racked into mostly new Hungarian oak, 2-year-old American oak barrels and 1 to 2-year-old French oak barrels. In early spring, we racked it out of barrels and blended 8% Petite Sirah and continued to age the wine for a total of 8 months in barrels, prior to bottling, which was August, 2007. Overall, we are shortening up the aging regime and raising the percentage of Barbera in order to showcase true varietal flavors that are less influenced by both oak and other red grapes. |
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Winemaker's Notes:
Intense purple is the best way to describe the vibrant color of this wine. The aroma is filled with anise and black cherries and has hints of vanilla and roasted coffee from the oak regime. The flavor echoes the nose with rich, concentrated raspberry and black cherry fruit flavors from a low yielding Barbera vintage. The wine has a soft finish with lingering licorice flavors. By far, our most concentrated Barbera to date! This wine could age and improve for another 15 years. Try it with Osso Bucco, your favorite red sauced pastas, veal, and of course, pizza! |
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Mark R. Lyon, Winemaker
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| Technical
Data |
| Appellation: |
Sonoma Valley |
Composition: |
92% Barbera, 8% Petite Sirah
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| Cooperage: |
8 months in French, American & Hungarian oak
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Alcohol: |
14.5% |
| TA: |
0.52 g/100ml |
pH: |
3.62 |
| Bottling Date: |
August 2007 |
Release Date: |
June 2008 |
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Awards and Acclaim:
2004 Vintage
94 Points and Wine of the Month from The Midwest Wine Connection : "The 2001 version of this wine was our "Wine of the Month" exactly two years ago. What a tribute to consistency that it again earns that honor! The rich cherry aromas raise expectations immediately, and the succulent, intense, full-bodied flavors meet those expectations. A memorable tannic finish caps a great wine experience."
Four Stars and Excellent from Restaurant Wine : "Fleshy, full bodied and richly flavored, this is a powerful Barbera, that is crisp and long on the palate, tasting of blackberry, blueberry, plum, toast, cedar and tobacco."
87 Points and Cellar Selection from Wine Enthusiast : "Sebastiani knows Barbera. At its best, which this one is, the variety produces a very dry, very tannic and high-acid wine, rich in earthy, coffee, cherry-berry flavors. This bottle which is robust now, will easily achieve 20 years of age, softening and sweetening all the way."
2003 Vintage
Five Stars and Exceptional from Restuarnt Wine : "Luscious and very fruity in style; an intensely flavored, supple Barbera, tasting of blueberry, boysenberry jam, toast, cedar, and vanilla."
88 Points from Wine Enthusiast : "How dark this wine is, and how young. Primary fruit is blackberries, with strong charry oak aromas. In the mouth it's clean and vibrant, but immature, hung with blackberry and cherry baby fat. Try aging this lovely wine until 2010 and beyond."
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