Gea/Fabio Barbera d'Alba Superiore Palma 2018

Fabio Gea is making unique wines from minuscule parcels on land inherited from his grandfather in the Barbaresco region, mostly around Bricco di Neive. When Fabio Gea left his career as a successful geologist to return to his family roots of winemaking, the vines had skipped a generation and were overgrown, Fabio restored them. Today, his incredibly small vineyard—in total, less than a hectare of land—is mostly dedicated to Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, and Barbera. All the vineyard work is done by hand, with no use of pesticides, fertilizer, or irrigation and minimal treatments of copper and sulfur. Fabio produces a mere 5,000 bottles per year, some of which are traditional wines under the DOCG/DOC and some of which are a little more experimental. On each bottle is written “La Msoira e’L Rastel,” which is the titular name of the estate. In Piemontese dialect, this means “the sickle and the rake," and it is also depicted as a symbol on each bottle. Every detail of Fabio’s wines is of artisan quality: he uses handmade paper and hand-blown bottles, and each bottle is numbered by hand, like a limited-edition print. These wines are very limited and we are lucky to have acquired some from one of our European suppliers.

His Barbera d'Alba "Palma" was fermented in barrel and aged in stoneware. Minimal sulfur was added at bottling. The nose is bright, with spicy and fresh dark forest fruit. The palate is also focused and vibrant, with black cherry, dried herbs, and a hint of salty, dark minerality, balanced by bright acidity.