2013 Forgeron Barbera

It's almost hump day and I can start to feel the weekend approaching...how sad is that?!?  At any rate, it's been a busy week already and I've been fighting a cold, so why not open up a nice bottle of wine?  This time its from one of my favorite Washington producers, Forgeron Cellars, and their 2013 Barbera!  Who doesn't love an easy sipping, food friendly Barbera?  I sure do!

The wine is a nice rich ruby color in the glass.  The nose presents nice aromas of leather, blackberry, raspberry jam and a hint of rose petals.  The taste is simply wonderful, with a rush of ripe black fruit, with a hint of sweetness on the outset, blackberry, cherry and currant, that transitions to some lovely black pepper spice midpalate, that hints at a bit of butter at the end.  The finish is quite nice, with youthful tannins providing the base for a long, smooth and very dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, as it's a great example of the varietal and a wonderfully food friendly wine.  This would pair well with hearty Italian dishes, nice grilled steaks, or even seafood, which is a good thing, since tonight I'm enjoying this one with some sesame seared sea scallops (say that five times fast!) on a bed of spring greens, some linguine with garlic and olive oil and some steamed rainbow carrots.  Cheers!