Wine of the Week!

Michele Chiarlo 2004   $34      
Barbera d'Asti Le Orme   

This week’s Wine of the Week pick for you comes from the Piedmont area of Italy.    

The Piedmont is home to the great Nebbiolo wines of Barolo and Barbaresco but the every day drinking wine there is Barbera.   Our pick is the Michele Chiarlo Barbera d’Asti of Le Orme.  This is a perky, cheerful wine with wonderful fruity flavors of ripe strawberry along with a subtle taste of truffle or mushroom.  It finishes bright and clean.   

You can serve this Chiarlo Barbera with everything from a simple cheeseburger or spaghetti and meatballs, to a grilled pork tenderloin or even herb roasted chicken.  Its fruit and acid balance gives it that versatility. 

It’s really a food friendly wine… and price friendly too at about twelve dollars a bottle.   But you know… sometimes it’s great to have a just a glass of red to sip by itself.  So choose the Chiarlo 2004 Barbera from Asti as the wine of the week it’s a wine for any day.   

Pop the Cork™.

Wine on the Radio - April 27, 2007

Pure, ripe plum and strawberry fruit flavors underscored by a crisp acidic note and a hint of earth mark this charming, succulent wine, set in a supple texture supported by sweet, soft tannins.

Chiarlo selects his Barbera d’Asti from the older Barbera vines planted in Asti and harvests at peak maturity.  Vinified at the Chiarlo cellars in Calamandrana, the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation and is then aged at least a year in oak.  The result is  a brilliant ruby-red wine with an intense yet airy, vinous bouquet and a medium-bodied, bone dry robustness that is exceptionally pleasant on the palate.  The best vintages, with age, tend to garnet in color, and show a velvety, harmonious quality of considerable elegance.

Notes on our Wines of the Week, Recommendations, and Picks:

When you read our thoughts, please remember that you may think differently.  A particular wine may be your favorite and not on our list.  Well, don't stop buying it because of that.  In fact, you may want to email us and let us know about it. These are our opinions but our FIRST recommendation is to go by your own palate.

A couple of other thoughts . . . first, prices are approximate.  They'll vary.  Second, different vintages mean different grapes and different tastes so our recommendation for a 2000 Merlot may not hold for 2001.

And lastly, we remind you to drink responsibly!  Now, all that said, here is a summary of  links to our suggestions.  Find one (or more) and pop the cork!

Read the fine print . . .

Wine consumption can have positive physical benefits or cause possible physical harm . . . the medical community is divided in some areas.  If you have any doubt, check with your doctor before consuming wine or any other alcoholic drink. 

Our information is well researched.  Recommendations are based on our opinions at the time of publication.  At the same time, recommendations change.  Also, there may be significant variance in taste depending on storage, shipping, and other factors.

The Wine Experience is not liable or responsible for any consequences arising from the use of the information obtained from winexperience.com, wineexp.com or The Wine Experience radio show.

The Wine Experience is intended for adults (over 21 years old).  Drink responsibly and don't drink and drive!