Date of visit: September 30, 2021
A bit about the winery:
Situated amongst the vines in what’s considered to be one of the greatest locations to grow grapes in all of the Valle d’Aosta, Château Feuillet, in Saint-Pierre, sits Di Barrò, a small, family owned winery, with 3 generations of winemaking experience, who’s turning out some of the finest wines in all of the Valle d’Aosta. The winery is run by husband and wife team Elvira Rini and Andrea Barmaz, and their two children, Francesca and Matteo. Andrea’s contributions to the world of food, wine, and agriculture in the Valle d’Aosta are extraordinary. Currently, Andrea is the President of the associazione Viticoltori della Valle d’Aosta “Vival” (Valle d’Aosta winemakers association), President of the Movimento Turismo del Vino Valle d’Aosta (Valle d’Aosta Wine Tourism Movement), head of the Research and Experimentation Unit of the Institut Agricole Régional di Aosta, President of the Consorzio DOP Fontina, and is the oenologist of Di Barrò. The name “Di Barrò”, in local dialect, translates to “from/of the barrels”. Barrò are wooden barrels with a distinct shape, once used in the region to transfer grapes which were hand-squeezed in the vineyards, to the cellar, and to also transport the wine for sale. The name is also an acronym of the first letters of the last names of the former owners and in-laws of the current owners, Barmaz and Rossan. The winery produces just over a dozen different wines, most of which are made from indigenous grape varieties. Many of these indigenous varieties were at risk of becoming extinct not long ago, and Di Barrò was one of the first producers to help rescue them and prevent this from happening. They were also one of the first to produce wines from these varieties, as pure 100% single varietal wines. Di Barrò, produces all wines exclusively in stainless steel with no use of oak whatsoever. The decision to switch to 100% stainless steel was a bold and courageous one, and was made just a few years ago. They made this to decision so that they can create wines where the grapes and terroir can showcase themselves in their purest form and not be overwhelmed by oak. The resulting wines are simply extraordinary, and are an unbelievably pure expression of the grapes and their respective terroir.
Our visit:
Our visit to Di Barrò took place on September 30th, and was the final tasting of our trip to Italy. As we approached the estate, we were enthusiastically greeted by Matteo, who was an unbelievably kind and generous host to us during our visit. We spoke about our stay in Aosta so far, and Matteo showed us some of the vines surrounding the estate. He explained that the vines receive just 4 small sulfur treatments throughout the year, and no chemical treatments are used in the vineyards at all. We then followed Matteo into the cellar. He first led us into a room filled with several stainless steel tanks, and explained Di Barrò’s decision to produce all wines in 100% stainless steel with no oak whatsoever. We then moved to a room which housed all of their sparkling wines currently undergoing secondary fermentation in the bottle. These wines are produced in the classic charmat method, and the bottles are rotated by hand. Matteo then brought us into the tasting room, and began to pour Di Barrò’s incredible lineup of wines. Francesca and Elvira joined us shortly after we tasted our first or second wine, and they along with Matteo spoke to us in detail about their wines throughout the tasting. It was an extraordinary experience to taste all of Di Barrò’s wines with the amazing family who made them. Below are our notes for the wines we tasted. All wines were opened while we were there, and were poured and tasted immediately.
Our tasting notes:
2019 Chardonnay: Delicate aromas of fresh cut grass on the nose. The palate is crisp, and acidic, but still maintains a smooth, delicate mouthfeel. A fantastic Chardonnay, and a beautiful and pure expression of the grape and terroir.
2018 Pinot Gris: This wine spends an additional year in stainless steel compared to the Chardonnay. Beautiful aromas of lemongrass, and white flowers on the nose. Crisp, juicy acidity, with alternating flavors of tart green apples, balanced out by a softer, pleasant fruitiness. Persistent finish.
2019 Petite Arvine: Aromas of fresh sliced apples, ocean mist, lemon, and straw, all of which carry over to the palate. Super crisp, acidic, and focused, almost riesling-like in this sense. High acidity, and persistent finish. As we tasted this wine, we asked Matteo about cellaring the wine, to see how it may evolve with age. Matteo explained that they only began producing Petite Arvine in 2017, so it’s tough to say. However, he thinks it will drink really nicely with around 5-6 years worth of age on it, and we agree. Just absolutely stunning right now for immediate consumption, but we would also love to revisit it in around 5 or 6 years time to see how it evolves. A really amazing wine, and probably our favorite expression of this grape that we’ve tried.
2019 Petit Rouge: Incredibly fresh aromas of red fruit lead on the nose, and carry over to the palate. Smooth, supple, well integrated tannins. A very elegant wine, that’s all about finesse, but is still quite structured. Great balance. Easy drinking, and fruit forward, but by no means a simple wine.
2019 Mayolet: An explosion of red fruit on the nose, along with scorched earth, and a hint of rose hips. Beautiful nose. The mouthfeel is just incredible, and is unbelievably, silky smooth. Flavors of red berries, which developed a more multifaceted profile, and became more open and inviting after the wine had 5 minutes or so to rest in the glass per Matteo’s recommendation. Delicious.
2019 Syrah: Vines grow at a staggering 800 meters above sea level. Aromas of baking spices, along with fresh black and white peppercorns, which carry over to the palate, as well as flavors of bell peppers and tomatoes. Tannins are pronounced, forward, and structured, yet smooth, and very well integrated. A wine that is all about balance, and elegance rather than power. A gorgeous representation of Syrah. The first we’ve tasted from Aosta, and we absolutely loved it.
2017 Fumin: This wine was bottled 2 days prior to us tasting it. Elvira and Matteo recommended ideally waiting at least another month or 2 prior to drinking this wine. Aromas of campfire smoke, cinchona bark, baking spices, earth, anise some vegetal notes, and a hint of mint and pine, all of which carry over to the palate. Extraordinary complex aromas and flavors. An absolutely amazing wine, and one of our favorite wines that we tasted during our 2-week trip to Italy.
2015 Torrette Superieur “Ostro”: Grapes are dried for 20 days following harvest, similar to how passito or Amarone would be. Aromas of onions, spices, smoked meats, and some oxidative notes. A hint of gaminess on the nose as well, though not in an offensive way, but rather a pleasant way, which carries over to the palate, along with flavors of bell pepper, spices, and some oxidative notes. Silky smooth tannins, and a soft mouthfeel. An extremely unique wine, quite different from any other wine we’ve experienced. Fantastic.
Lo Flapì (barrel sample): Made from dried overripe grapes, 60% Pinot Gris and 40% Moscato. 70 grams residual sugar. This wine has been resting in steel for 1 year so far, and will likely stay there for an additional 6 months. Aromas of apricots and honey on the nose, which carry over to the palate, along with notes of pears. Delicious, and extremely enjoyable right now. Would love to taste this wine once bottled, as the barrel sample was just astounding. This is already an amazing wine.
Our thoughts & key takeaways:
This was our last day in the Valle d’Aosta before flying back to New York. After tasting many of the wines from this area, it’s surprising to us that so many of these wines are either not exported to the United States or are exported in tiny quantities and are therefore challenging to find. Di Barrò, for example, is currently not exported to the US market, though this may change in the future. The wines from the indigenous varieties of this area that Di Barrò produces are extraordinary in every way, as are the international varieties that they produce. Although, the wine market is likely flooded with thousands of examples of wines made from international varieties such as Chardonnay or Syrah, none of the examples that we’ve tasted have tasted previously have tasted anything like Di Barrò’s given the unique terroir where these grapes are grown. Di Barrò’s wines are phenomenal in every way and in our opinion are some of the greatest wines in the Valle d’Aosta, and some of our favorite wines that we’ve ever tried. The passion that Francesca, Elvira, and Matteo, have for their wines is remarkable, is evident the moment that you speak to them, and shows in the wines that they produce. Our only regret about our visit is not taking more pictures and not bringing a larger suitcase with us so that we can bring more of Di Barrò’s wines back to New York with us. However, this gives us an excuse to plan a trip to visit Di Barrò again in the near future.
Thank you
Thank you, Francesca, Elvira, and Matteo for the amazing tasting, and thank you to Andrea, and everyone at Di Barrò who helped produce these amazing wines. We loved your wines, and we hope to come back and visit you again very soon.
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