Recommendation: Not recommended.
Winery/Producer: Childress Winery; Lexington, North Carolina.
Grape Variety:Barbera.
Geographic Origin: North Carolina.
Vintage: 2010
Price: Estimated cost $16.99
Purchased From: Included with Childress Vineyards wine club membership
Pared With: Tortellini with tomato and zucchini in pesto sauce.
Tasting:
He said: Served room temperature. Clear ruby red color. Very strong alcohol aromas. (If you don’t swirl the glass there are hints of dark fruit.) Somewhat harsh fruit taste and acid finish. This domestic Barbera is not nearly as god as cheap Italian Barbera. We received this as one of the club membership wines…so would I ever buy a bottle of Childress Barbera…not a chance!!! The longer the wine was open the more smoky and earthy taste it had; but, the alcohol aromas didn’t go away
She said: Hold your nose when you drink this because the bouquet is all alcohol. If you sip carefully and swirl the wine in your mouth you can detect a very delicious smokey flavor but unfortunately this flavor is allusive. The label claims crushed berries and vanilla but they were left out of our bottle. I am very disappointed in Childress Vineyard as a North Carolinian I had hoped for better and something to brag about. To bad, even though Childress has a great facility he just can’t get it right.
To be fair the wine mellowed a bit as we drank it; both the bouquet and taste. Perhaps decanting would be a good idea to soften the harshness. The tannins were soft from the beginning to end but the sharpness remained right into the finish. Light bodied and acidic, the wine was OK with dinner but I would look for something else in the future. No recommendation for this one from me at any price; well maybe at $5.
Comments: We’re Childress Vineyard club members because we frequently go to the vineyard for lunch…members receive 10% off food and wine (in addition to wine delivered to you door step during the year). The lunch and view from the balcony is OUTSTANDING…and we always have the Signature Chardonnay, which is pretty good.
And one closing note: The Childress Vineyards 2009 Barbera won a silver award at the Wines of the South Annual Competition in October 2012.
Bar code: 182681000750