2021 Tenuta la Pergola Monferrato Rosso

2021 vintage: 50% Barbera, 18% Dolcetto, 17.5% Bonarda, 11% Freisa, 3.5% Croatina

"If you’ve ever dreamed of moving to Italy and opening your own agriturismo or small-town trattoria, you’ve probably imagined the wine you would serve at lunch alongside your saucy tagliatelle ai funghi or tender prosciutto crudo. You want something juicy, versatile, and joyous: a red with some good acidity to complement your simple home cooking and just enough tannic spine to stand up to the dishes on your table. It needs to be light and vibrant enough to leave you with postprandial energy. You just might not have known precisely which bottle from which region it would be. Well, here it is: a Piemontese red made mostly from Barbera and its supporting cast of Bonarda, Dolcetto, and Freisa, grown in sand and limestone soils around the picturesque hillside town of Cisterna d’Asti. In contrast to the exalted Baroli made to the south, Tenuta La Pergola specializes in the humbler side of Piedmont’s wine culture, which can be every bit as satisfying. The azienda’s Monferrato Rosso is the quintessential house wine, whether it’s my apartment in the Bay Area or your future casa in Italia. It is the red to always have on hand." - Kermit Lynch Wines