Damilano, Barbera d’Asti (Piedmont, Italy) 2008

Really good Barbera is a terrific food wine and sometimes a great value, and this bottling lives up to all of those descriptors.  Remarkably complete and balanced for such a young wine, this features red and black cherry fruit that is ripe but still vividly fresh, with Barbera’s famous acidity being evident but not at all biting.  The tannins are very tame but still notable and welcome as a source of structure.  This is a killer match for lighter meat dishes and almost any pasta preparation involving tomatoes.