Cascina delle Rose 2020 'Donna Elena' Barbera d'Alba Superiore DOC

Cascina delle Rose 2020 'Donna Elena' Barbera d'Alba Superiore DOC

Item Number: 18913

UPC: None

Country: Italy
Region: Piedmont
Sub Region: Langhe
Appellation/AVA: Barbera d'Alba Superiore DOC
Estate Grown Wine: Yes
Vintage: 2020
Grape(s): 100% Barbera
Type: Wine - Red
Bottle Size: 750 ml
Pack: 12
Closure: Cork
Viticulture: Certified Organic
Soil Type: Gray, bluish and calcareous marl with a compact stratification

Vineyard Notes: Vineyards are situated in the Rio Sordo Valley in Barbaresco. They have an east exposure allowing the vines to receive sun until sunset. The vines were planted in 1997.

Winemaking Notes: The skins remain in contact with the must for about 23-25 days during the native yeast fermentation. The skins are submersed during fermentation via pump overs. Malolactic fermentation occurs. Wine is transferred to large traditional Slavonian oak casks of 10-20 hectoliters for 20 months. It is not filtered or fined.

Tasting Notes: Bold and delicious, the Donna Elena Barbera opens with earthy aromas of mature black-skinned fruit, a balsamic vein and a whiff of game. The savory, full-bodied palate doles out juicy black cherry, blackberry and spices alongside bright acidity and refined tannins. Beautiful finesse, elegance and energy. Remarkable minerality with a long persistent finish.

Cream only received 2 cases of the 2020 vintage for the Illinois market.

Reviews

  • Vinous
    Rating: 93 (10/24/2023)

    The 2020 Barbera d'Alba Superiore Donna Elena is a heady, opulent wine. Ripe dark cherry, mocha, sweet spice, rose petal and licorice saturate the palate. As always, the Donna Elena is the more extroverted of the estate's two Barberas. Even with all of its obvious textural intensity, the 2020 offers quite a bit of classicism as well. It spent about 20 months in oak.

  • The Wine Advocate
    Rating: 93 (8/24/2023)

    Showing extra power and extraction, the Cascina delle Rose 2020 Barbera d'Alba Superiore Donna Elena (with 3,000 bottles made) takes the intensity of the grape up a notch or two. That intensity (and the 15% alcohol content) is shaped by a hot and sunny vintage. Barbera loves the heat and returns the favor with dried blackberry, baked plum and light spice. The varietal acidity is intact over a very smooth and rich mouthfeel. This wine plays its strongest cards on the palate.