Barbera d'Alba

Burlotto makes two Barberas. This is the regular Barbera d'Alba (the single-vineyard Aves is a separate bottling). The blend draws primarily from the 1.7-hectare Cadìa parcel in Roddi, along the road from Verduno to Roddi - a south-facing, Tortonian-section site at 250-280 metres that also carries Pelaverga, Dolcetto, and Freisa. Two smaller Verduno parcels round it out: 0.37 hectares in Castagna (south-exposed) and the 0.77-hectare L'Urdiä plot, where Barbera grows alongside Nebbiolo.

Hand-harvested into 20-kilo cases, hand-sorted, destemmed, moved by gravity into open French oak vats and open-top stainless steel. Delicate daily pump-overs and punch-downs through maceration. Malolactic in stainless, then aging in large French botti grandi. Bottled between late August and early September of the year after harvest - around eleven to twelve months total élevage. 14.5% ABV.

2022 was the second drought year in a row in the Alba zone - a dry winter with no snowmelt to replenish reserves, early flowering, warm dry July, harvest pulled forward to mid-September through early October. Yields fell sharply across the zone. Successful 2022 reds across Alba read moderate in scale, open-aromatic, fine-grained, with controlled alcohol and earlier drinkability than 2020 or 2021.