It's the first wine we made as garagistes; Barbera remains one of our favorites. We learned early, though, that the vineyard and grower have huge influence on the ultimate beauty of the wine.
If there’s a “Godfather” of Barbera, it’s Dick Cooper. The Cooper ranches grow some of the best around, and it makes deep, dark, mouthwatering wine. We had a Cooper-grown Barbera shortly after making our first wines and knew that we absolutely had to have some of his fruit. Of course, all his Barbera was contracted for. Unobtainium. So, when we received a call from Dick’s daughter, Chrissy, (like all good Godfathers, he’s surrounded by family) that Barbera was available, we jumped on it like an offer we couldn’t refuse.
This Barbera is
...more... loaded with cherry and cassis aromas with a sprinkling of clove. In the mouth it’s full of darker cherry and cola flavors with nutmeg on the finish. Flavors are deepening as the wine bottle
ages; with firm acidity and moderate tannin, it just keeps improving with time.
VINTAGE NOTES:
California returned to more typical weather for 2016 with adequate rain. February was, however, warm and dry, encouraging early bud break; temperate summer conditions led to early harvest.
THE VINEYARD
Cooper Ranch is set in the rolling hills just outside of Plymouth, California, full of Amador's rocky, red granite soil. The Coopers planted Barbera here in the late '50's, far ahead of everyone else in Amador County. Some of the vines date back more than 50 years to these original plantings. Like an old vine Zin, the Coopers head train their Barbera vines, a strategy that, while labor ntensive, concentrates flavors while maintaining bright acidity.
