2023 Rosanna Sandri Barbera d'Alba "Baccara"

The Sandri family's roots in Piedmont trace back to 1950, when Mario and Teresina Sandri began planting vines in San Rocco Seno d'Elvio, near the village of Barbaresco. Their daughter Rosanna, who grew up working the land alongside her parents, later married Franco Prandi in 1978, combining two smallholdings into a larger family estate. Today the domaine, based in Treiso, is guided by Rosanna's practical, lifelong vineyard experience alongside sons Mauro and Roberto, both trained at the Alba Enological School, blending old-school tradition with an eye toward sustainability. The estate farms with a deliberately minimal approach: no chemical additions, an emphasis on biodiversity, and even a rejection of tractors in the vineyard. Baccara is the family's Barbera d'Alba bottling, handled gently in the cellar to preserve the variety's natural fruit brightness (macerations for Barbera and Dolcetto are notably shorter than the three-to-four-week macerations used for the estate's Nebbiolo). It's aged in concrete or stainless steel rather than oak, bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulfur, favoring purity and site expression over overt winemaking influence. Expect an expressive nose of ripe cherry, red plum, and blackberry, lifted by violet, spice, and a touch of earth. On the palate, it's juicy and generous, carried by Barbera's hallmark bright acidity, with supple tannins that add gentle grip without heaviness, and a fresh, mineral-tinged finish that lingers with real persistence. It's an approachable wine on release, yet structured enough to develop gracefully over the next few years, and has drawn strong critical marks (in the low-to-mid 90s from several trade sources).