I think I have found one of my cellar stalwarts for 2006. This is just a plush, velvet-textured Barbera with excellent balance. Some might say that 2003 lacks acidity, lacks typicity... blah, blah, blah. This is just good wine (with the dark fruit typicity of Barbera I might add) that would pair with numerous different foods (Italian or not) and I would drink on any day of the week. Sure, it may be lower in acid, but this is exactly the type of Barbera to get people hooked on Piedmont (a good crossover wine, if I may say that). $25-30 on winesearcher.com, and a great wine for the money.

Bravo to Luciano Sandrone!

Thanks for the note.

Opened another bottle with identical notes - on the second day, the wine was brimming with bright fruits, minerality and perfume. A great Barbera.

HOLY $%^#$&#%^&$%!!!!!!

I OWE YOU MONEY!!!!

Shh... don't have to yell. Don't worry I haven't started drinking your wines... yet.

Jaimetown nailed this one. We really enjoyed this wine. It womps (the technical term ) many wines in this price range.

• 2003 Luciano Sandrone Barbera d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba (3/17/2006)
  Dark purple in color; It started out shy on the nose but after the decant the spicy aromas filled the glass. This wine has an interesting spice profile, almost middle eastern and cloves. There were loads of dark plum fruit along with minerality. It was balanced but maybe lighter in acid than you would expect from a young Barbera in this category. It had a nice velvety texture and was a wine to be matched with food. [~$25 on release; Decanted 30 minutes and needed it; Ready to drink now] (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Ah, good news... I haven't drank my one lonely bottle yet. Thanks for the TN

Glad you enjoyed it Tex! I still have a few more bottles that I'll be going through in the next 1-2 years.

Had another bottle this week - same notes, same great bottle. Yum yum yum.

Ok, I've had this wine three times now.

The first two were incredible qpr. Last night...

I kid you not, last night's bottle stood up to a '96 Groffier Bonnes Mares. Hedonistically... it may have been better. I'm not going to post a note just yet as I'm still trying to figure out how to justify what I just said... whoa.

I presume this is the bottle you guys are posting notes on.

Yep, that's the one.

I picked up 1 bottle so far for tasting purposes but I haven't tasted it yet. My local retail was $32.99.

Joe,

Last night it showed its best 3-4 hours after it was opened with about 1 glass removed. We did not decant. Just an FYI.

Good to see you posting Italian TNs whiner - for a while I thought you had given up on the stuff!

I can get this locally for $28.04 + sales tax.

That's an OK price. We've already drank 3 of our 6 bottles of this wine. Tasty.

2003 Luciano Sandrone Barbera d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba (8/2/2006)
WIML89,PURPLE90,NOWA,WS86

Tasted August 2, 2006 at home. Opened 3 hours before serving. Decanted one glass into a 375 bottle and left the opened bottles until served in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Dark garnet, almost purple colored in the glass, slightly cloudy hue. Nose of kirsch, blackberries, spices and white pepper. Flavors of black licorice, blackberries, plums and minerals. Medium acidity with medium tannins. Medium bodied. Drink over the next 2-3 years. Based on my local retail price of $28.04 I'd say the value here is agreeable. (89 pts.)

For some reason this wine really appeals to me

• 2003 Luciano Sandrone Barbera d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba (10/20/2006)
  
  Last night's bottle had a wicked licorice aroma and flavor that was different than the previous bottles. This wine has just enough acidity to harmonize with a variety of foods. Yum. (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

I picked some of this up based on prior tasting notes posted here - thanks all - I too am a sucker for good Barbera - great food wine!