Barbera d’Asti Ciapin Scovero 2023

Barbera d’Asti Ciapin Scovero, natural and organic Barbera from the Asti region of Piemonte.  Andrea’s older vines of Barbera, some of which are 80 year’s old form part of the Ciapin vineyard which is situated in a kind of amphitheatre which concentrates the heat and ripens the grapes very well.  As a result, this Barbera is deeper and richer than the more exposed Versante Nord Barbera.  Andrea, who likes powerful wines, also strips away a few grapes a month before harvest to concentrate the flavours of this wine.  The 2023 has depth and intensity, dark fruits, brambly spicey notes, mint and an earthy texture.  The wines only matures for about a year in tank so no oak covers the pure fruit of these delicious Barbera grapes.

Andrea Scovero is a third generation wine maker in Bionzo, a small village next to Costigliole d’Asti, nestled in the hills of Asti.  The vines and old farmhouse where you find the winery and his home are at about 200-300 metres above sea level.  The 50 year old Barbera vines he farms are in a kind of Amphitheatre shaped bowl, which is where the wine Barbera originally called 'Ciapin' takes its name, 'Ciapin' meaning Amphitheatre in dialect.

Andrea is no suave, sophisticated Piemontese wine maker like Giorgio Rivetti at La Spinetta.  No, Andrea is a farmer and an artisan through and through.  He is a big guy, warm hearted and friendly but quiet and softly spoken.  He makes wines without any intervention in vineyard and cellar, something he tells me is still very rare in Piemonte where large companies and conventional practice still hold sway.   Andrea has to discard the fruit from the last row of vines in each harvest as these vines absorb the contamination from the neighbouring growers, some of which are literally a few metres from his own.

He is a committed natural grower and has stuck to his principles even when the prevailing wind is not in his favour.  His wines are different from vintage to vintage.  They are authentic, you might say a little rustic, but honest, gutsy and hearty.  Both Barbera and Rosato are excellent but his Nebbiolo is something particularly fine, especially when considering the modest price for a production of only 1500 bottles a year.