Cigliuti Vigna Serraboella Barbera d’Alba 2022

Cigliuti is a Piedmont grower descended from four generations of Langhe farmers, credited with adopting green harvesting in the region as early as the 1960s to concentrate the remaining fruit. Vigna Serraboella is the family's prized cru near Neive, its calcareous marl soils giving Barbera both depth and the taut acidity the grape is known for. The site sits on a well-exposed slope where warm days ripen the fruit and cool nights preserve freshness and colour. Green harvesting drops a share of the crop before ripening, lifting the concentration in what remains. After fermentation the wine ages 18 months in French oak barrels, where measured oxygen exchange softens the tannins and adds vanilla and clove while the acid stays firm. The colour is dense ruby. The nose shows concentrated plum and ripe cherry with black pepper, liquorice and a lick of oak spice. The palate is robust and full, structured by that vivid acidity, closing long and savoury. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees and decant an hour before pouring. It is built for red meat and mature cheese.