Coppo Nizza Pomorosso 2022

We've never welcomed a Barbera to our Best In Show selection before - and pow! Here it is. Fittingly it's a Nizza wine, this DOCG having come into being in 2014 to showcase a Barbera-only subzone formerly included in DOCG Barbera d'Asti Superiore and centred around the town of Nizza Monferrato. It's not a shy wine, and it left our judges excited: powerful black fruits with orange and blueberry scents layered into spicy, creamy oak. On the palate it's rich, deep and heady, with more orange and black fruit partnered with voluptuous tannins from both skins and oak. It has all the athleticism of the variety - but if you're one of those who have found Barbera's acidity to be almost too aggressive and attacking in the past, this wine may reassure; it's balanced and vivacious here, thanks to the overall richness and wealth of the whole. This offers aromas of toasted spices, hazelnuts, earth and ripe dark berries. Medium- to full-bodied and firm, with a core of succulent dark fruit. The lingering finish is a little chewy. Drink or hold.