30 years of Alfiera, the iconic Barbera from Marchesi Alfieri

Since 1993, Marchesi Alfieri's Barbera d'Asti Superiore has accompanied the life of the winery, becoming its iconic wine. We traced its history through the tasting of 3 decades of production.

Among the many writings about Camillo Count Benso di Cavour, not enough attention is paid to what was his commitment to the lands straddling Alba and Asti. Castello Marchesi Alfieri in San Martino Alfieri, has taken up the original oenological path since 1990, soon becoming an important and recognized exponent of Barbera. Fresh and young but above all with great aging potential. 

The story begins in 1616 with Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy and the grant to Urbano Alfieri of the fief of San Martino; more reasoned viticulture comes, however, later with Cavour himself, who will be personally linked to the estate, for family rather than commercial reasons. On the hills in front of the castle he had Pinot Noir planted-as well as at Castello di Neive-both for the fertility of the land and to make his granddaughter Giuseppina, who had married Carlo Alfieri di Sostegno, independent. The path and its effects can be observed in numerous paintings in the castle's halls, the eye falls on the one depicting Charles Emmanuel III in the foreground in relation to the port of Nice, the first outlook to the sea-based trade unlocks for this part of Piedmont. The castle is a mansion of unprecedented beauty, built from 1696 to 1721 by engineer Antonio Bertola and experiencing a second life in the 19th century, thanks to neo-Baroque renovations by architect Ernesto Melano. 

Congenial spaces for wine production, finely preserved, now exploited to the fullest by director-winemaker Mario Olivero: the historic barrique cellar with about 250 French oak barrels (Allier and Tronçais), to which a second room for tonneaux and large barrels has been added over time. The old stables become an ideal place for the aging of glass bottles. The nearly two hundred thousand bottles produced are the result of a journey undertaken by the last branch of the Alfieri family linked to the Casimiro San Martino di San Germano, Emanuela, Antonella and Giovanna who, in a great, holy vintage as 1990 is, gave birth to their first ten thousand bottles. Which had to be sold. The market responded enthusiastically, the business continued happily, the first major transformations were made in the vineyard and at the structural level. Thinning began, Nebbiolo was planted, and new rooms used as hospitality rooms were inaugurated. 

For the past ten years, the winery has also ventured into the production of Pinot Noir-based Metodo Classico, which over time has seen its stay on the lees increase to release, in the latest release, matter, citrus and flavor. But the production, as mentioned, is mainly focused on Barbera in the 20 hectares of property on the hills to the left of the Tanaro, where the geology creates a beautiful suggestion: we find elements that bring us back to Roero, due to the presence of sand and limestone but also some Langa heritage, in marly and clayey soils. Toward Asti, on the other hand, we find sandier soils, especially in the higher points of the hills on Lugagnano clays. 

Well, such a multifaceted viticultural heritage requires parcellular vinifications as well as a detailed study of the vineyards. The Barbera d'Asti Superiore Docg Alfiera (€ 28.00), the winery's most important expression, has also seen in recent years the use of tonneaux alongside new barriques and several passages during aging. An integration that returns a different reading of the vineyard and vintage found in a vertical tasting of Barbera d'Asti Superiore Alfiera organized by the winery to retrace its 30 years of winemaking, from 1993 to 2019. Three decades compared, in which climate and viticulture have also changed. Variables to be taken into account in "scanning" the 5 hectares of the single-body Quaglia vineyard dedicated entirely to the production of Alfiera. Here, we find 4 different plots that, due to soil conformation and different times of grape ripening, are harvested and vinified separately. Only once malolactic fermentation is completed will the final blend take shape, which will complete the aging process before release to the market. The vineyard, starting with the next harvest, will see its "regeneration" completed, with the completion of the replanting of the last rows on mass selection. 

Among the objectives of the tasting are to pay homage to the birth of this wine and to verify the time-keeping of a Barbera that, from its inception, presents itself with those intentions. 

In battery, in warmer vintages, the alcohol is evident from the first breath but the acidity that characterizes this grape wins out over the weight of the mass. In extraordinary drinkability, for depth and balance, there is the 2005 Alfiera and even earlier the 1993 and 2001. Moving closer to the present day, with the 2015 there is a sense of the beginning of a new path, the acidity moves everything from the spicy layer to the fruity layer to reintroduce a fruity echo, already soft. Of close setting there is also the 2017 where the woody part in the finish suggests good aging potential. 

All the wines undergo fermentation on the skins in steel tanks at a temperature of 28-30°C for 15-20 days with delestage and light pumping over; they undergo malolactic fermentation in wood with bâtonnage in 225-liter French oak barriques (Allier and Troncais) and mature here for 18 months. Since 2015 fermentation and aging also take place in 500-liter barrels.

To read the score, price and description of the wines click on the name.

• Barbera d’Asti Superiore Alfiera 1993 
• Barbera d’Asti Superiore Alfiera 2005 
• Barbera d’Asti Superiore Alfiera 2015 
• Barbera d’Asti Superiore Alfiera 2017
• Barbera d’Asti Superiore Alfiera 2019

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