2001 Bava "PianoAlto" Barbera d'Asti Superiore Nizza

BAVA: AFFORDABLE AGED PIEDMONT There are always more famous wines (and if you want a Mascarello or a Conterno we can find that for you), but it's so supremely refreshing to find aged, perfectly stored and protected Piedmontese wines at reasonable prices. For those looking for a special bottle of Nebbiolo or Barbera around $100 for the holidays, you've found it.The Bava family has been growing grapes around Monferrato since 1600, but they built their first wine cellar in 1911. For the last hundred years, they've been humble stewards of their land. After the second world war, Bava was a major name in Piedmont wine commerce, but only recently have the wines been brough to my attention. Fermentations and macerations are mostly traditional, meaning LONG and oxidative, delivering those dried red fruits and autumnal flavors with cigar wrapper, fennel, and porcini mushroom. Older generations relied on barrique, but the newest generation has been progressive, staying true to French oak but reve