2011 Forgeron Sagemoor Barbera

Is it just me, or is home ownership the biggest racket in the world?  Now that I am a proud homeowner it seems I never have the weekends to just lounge around, sipping wine and enjoying the finer things in life.  No, every weekend it seems like I'm inundated with little projects around the house.  Today it was trimming some dead branches, then planting some flowers and fixing my broken skylight on the eve over my dining room!  Well at least when it's all done, I can relax on my deck, enjoy my yard and trees and sip a delightful glass of wine, like the 2011 Forgeron Sagemoor Barbera!  For those of you who have known me any length of time, you must know that one of my favorite wines is a good Barbera primarily because it's a very nice, food friendly wine that drinks exceptionally well when it's young, like the wine I've opened this evening.

The color of this wine is a deep purple at the center, leading to some bright ruby along the edges with fairly solid clarity.  The nose is a sweet combination of ripe fruit, licorice and a bit of smokiness.  The taste is a blast of fruit, strawberries, cherries and blackberries, along with some lovely spice notes of nutmeg and baking spice.  Midpalate the taste shifts to some mineral notes with a lingering presence of rich black fruit.  The tannins are well behaved creating a velvety and full mouthfeel and a long, smooth dry finish.  The lightness and fruit make this an ideal summer red!

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8, as I think it's just a great example of a Barbera, a fruit forward and food friendly wine that should be on everyone's list as we get to summer grilling!  This wine is very limited production of just 131 cases, yet it's still reasonably priced at just $30.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a preview of summer dinner of "surf & turf" with a grilled ribeye along with some steamed snow crab legs, a baked Yukon gold potato and some fresh grilled corn on the cob!  It's only May but man I am looking forward to so many fine summer dinners, cheers!