La Miraja Le Masche Barbera d'Asti Superiore 2022

Intense and fragrant. Dominated by red cherry, black plum, and blackberry against a backdrop of licorice and mature rose with a delicate balsamic undertone. This medium-bodied wine marries freshness and elegance, resulting in an uncommonly complex Barbera bottling with a gentle finish.

Barbera ranks among Piedmont’s most prolific and lovable grape varieties. La Miraja’s bottling is a textbook example of Barbera from Asti, where the grape often produces its most complex expressions. Its fantasy name, “Le Masche,” recalls local spirits believed to be protectors of the vineyard. Their origins can be found in the Celtic and Lombard civilizations who once occupied the region now known as Piedmont. The “masche” were benevolent witches known for their herbal remedies and healing powers, though the term was also extended to describe the mischievous spirits and supernatural entities who lurked in the villages and the taverns of the area.

The singular wines of La Miraja have heretofore been impossible to find in the United States. The estate is nestled within the original castle of Castagnole Monferrato, constructed in the 11th century and retrofitted to serve as a cellar in the 1400s. In this armory-turned-cellar, Eugenio Gatti turns out Barbera d’Asti, Grignolino, and his fabled Ruché. A seventh-generation viticulturist, Eugenio personally tends to the oldest vineyard of Ruché in Castagnole Monferrato, the original birthplace of Ruché. It is here that Eugenio Gatti devotes his life’s work to producing a minuscule amount of wine per year.