Claudio Viberti - 'La Gemella', Barbera d'Alba, Piemonte, Italy (2023)

TASTING NOTES

A Wine Spectator Top 100 wine, this is a bit wild and rustic on the nose with deep raspberry notes and earth on the palate. High acidity counters the ripe red fruits for a highly complex finish.

La Gemella refers to Maria Viberti, Claudio’s mother, who is herself a twin. This Barbera d’Alba is crafted to reflect a classic style: bold yet balanced, expressive yet elegant.

Fermentation in stainless steel and aged for about nine to twelve months in large oak “tini” vats, allowing fruit purity and varietal expression to shine without heavy oak influence. 

The story began when Antonio Viberti made wine to serve at the family’s inn, Al Buon Padre. His son Giovanni expanded the vineyards in the 1960s and helped transition the winery into a more serious estate.

Today, Claudio and his brother continue the work as one of the quiet, enduring names of Piedmont on 20 hectares of sustainably farmed vines. Claudio focuses on native varieties and west-facing slopes at high elevation, which give the wines energy, aromatic lift and structure. Everything is estate grown, fermented with indigenous yeast, and aged without flashy oak.