Barbera d’Alba Carrà 2022
Cascina Penna-Currado


93 points JD (Audrey Frick)
From barrel, the 2022 Barbera D’Alba Carra sports a youthful dark purple color and is fruity with ripe plum and pressed lavender as well as some iron richness and gamey notes. Medium to full-bodied, it’s snappy with fresh acidity, but it has a more rounded feel. With some notes of ripe wild herbs that last through the elegant finish, this is a classic and ripe vintage, but it retains very nice freshness. Drink it over the next several years.

Luca and Elena have always been particularly invested in Barbera d’Alba as they were among the first to invest in it seriously. They believe strongly in the potential of this grape in communicating what the Langhe has to offer to a wide audience. The Carrà site is in the San Sebastiano area of Municipality of Monforte, with a particularly great natural biodiversity. Grapes come from predominantly from two parcels; one planted in 1965 and another in 2000. The wine is vinified in steel, partially whole cluster. Aged in botti making it rich and concentrated but not too ripe.

Tasting note
The Carrà 2022 combines elegance, power and energy. Dark blue and purple fruits, plums, blood orange, mint, pomegranate and sage are some of the nuances that develop as this smooth and radiant Barbera slowly opens in the glass. Wonderfully dark and mysterious, it only gradually reveals its different dimensions and ends in a long-lasting finale with spicy, mineral notes.

Cascina Penna-Currado is the new personal venture of the Penna-Currado Vietti family, spearheaded by Elena Penna, Luca Currado Vietti and their kids, Michele and Giulia. Custodians of a cultural and sentimental legacy in the noble lands of the Langhe, Luca and Elena spent over 35 years at the helm of one of Piedmont’s most lauded wineries, Vietti, until both decided to part ways in January of 2023. Their new venture is of entirely different scale, artisanal, and they look forward to building it as a family endeavor with their marvelous mix of wit, wisdom and refreshed ambition grounded by their sound roots and experience in the Langhe.

“In the firm belief that fresh energy is the driving force behind successful businesses, we have invested in the future of our family, which can count on substantial know-how and solid roots in the place it calls home. We know that the Langa area will play an increasingly central role in the future of Italian wine, especially if family and authenticity continue to be espoused as core values in artisanal approaches.”
- Luca Currado Vietti