Vietti 2023 Barbera d'Alba Tre Vigne

The Wine

In the world of wine, aficionados parse the world of Barbera into two camps - those who love the lighter, aromatic wines from the Asti area, and those preferring the bolder wines grown around Alba. This is a benchmark Barbera d'Alba that wears its pedigree with ease.

As its name implies, ‘Tre Vigne’ is sourced from three distinct vineyard sites in Piemonte: Castiglione Falletto, Monforte, and La Morra—each contributing nuance to this polished yet soulful red.

Aromas feature ripe black cherry, plum skin, and violets supported by savory hints of graphite, anise and vanilla. On the palate, the wine is juicy and vibrant. The 2023 vintage delivers classic Barbera acidity wrapped in a plush robe of dark fruit.

By aging some of the wine in stainless steel and the rest in neutral oak, Vietti was able to craft a wine that balances freshness and depth. An unadorned, medium-bodied wine already showing supple tannins and a long, mouthwatering finish. It’s a wine that plays well with food but doesn’t need it—think of it as Piedmont’s answer to a weeknight Burgundy.

This is a Barbera with backbone and bounce: a wine that’s serious enough to impress, but joyful enough to pour freely.

The Winery

The Vietti winery, is based in the small medieval village of Castiglione Falletto in the heart of Piedmont’s famous “Langhe” region. Here the Krause family carefully and patiently handcrafts lauded wines that are the result of a unique combination of sun, soil and the winemaker's craft.

Though the history dates back to the 1800's, the first Vietti-labeled wines were produced by third-generation Mario, who transformed the family’s vineyards into an estate winery. In 1952, Luciana Vietti married winemaker and art connoisseur Alfredo Currado, whose intuitions – from the production of one of the first Barolo crus (Rocche di Castiglione – 1965), through the single-varietal vinification of Arneis (1967) to the invention of Artist Labels (1974) – made him both symbol and architect of some of the most significant revolutions of the time.

In 1970 the Viettis began working with artists on an ongoing, original artwork label program, featuring Pier Paolo Pasolini and Janet Fish, which received an exhibition at New York’s MOMA in 1996. In 1990 Alfredo and Luciana’s son Luca joined the family business as winemaker after working at California's Simi Winery, Opus One, Long Vineyards and Bordeaux's Mouton-Rothschild. 

His innovative winemaking utilizes a unique combination of the modern and traditional. Luca's focus on terroir is reflected in his careful cultivation and organic farming of more than 25 single vineyards. The estate has gradually grown over the course of time, and today the vineyards include some of the most highly-prized terroirs within the Barolo winegrowing area.

In 2016 the historic winery was acquired by Krause Holdings, enabling Luca and Elena, always at the head of Vietti brand, to add a number of prized crus to the estate’s holdings, and be able as a result to look to a future with new, stimulating prospects, all while maintaining the family approach for which the cellar has always been known.