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2020 Barbera d’Alba “Vigna Santa Caterina”
Guido Porro
Porro’s Barbera straddles the line between an everyday pizza wine and a more substantial red that expresses nuance and can even improve with age. For a Wednesday night pasta dinner, it checks all the boxes: ripe berry fruit with cleansing acidity; richness contrasted by vivaciousness. However, if you have a cellar, don’t hesitate to lay down a few bottles: in a balanced vintage, this wine has serious potential. The 2003, for example, still drinks superbly. After all, these Barbera vines sit in a privileged Barolo site, so there is no shortage of pedigree.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2020 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Barbera |
Appellation: | Barbera d’Alba |
Country: | Italy |
Region: | Piedmont |
Producer: | Guido Porro |
Winemaker: | Guido Porro |
Vineyard: | 25 - 30 years, 1 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone |
Aging: | 4-6 months in botti then about 6 months in stainless steel before bottling |
Farming: | Sustainable |
Alcohol: | 14.5% |
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About The Producer
Guido Porro
About The Region
Piedmont
Kermit’s love affair with the great reds of Piemonte dates back to the early days of his career: the very first container he imported from Italy, in fact, featured legendary 1971 and 1974 Barolos from Vietti and Aldo Conterno. Regular visits since then have seen our portfolio grow to now twelve Piemontesi estates, with a strong focus on the rolling hills of the Langhe.
Nebbiolo rules these majestic, vine-covered marl slopes, giving Italy’s most mystifyingly complex, nuanced, and age-worthy reds. When crafted via traditional production methods—long macerations and extensive aging in enormous oak botti—the powerful, yet incredibly refined Barolos and Barbarescos provide haunting aromatics of tar, raspberry, incense, tea, roses, and more. At times austere in their youth but well worth the wait, they pair beautifully with the hearty local cuisine starring veal in many forms, braised beef, pastas like tajarin and agnolotti, and of course, Alba’s famous white truffles.
Surrounded by mountains on three sides, Piemonte’s climate is continental, with baking hot summers and cold winters. Nebbiolo is only part of the story here: juicy, fruity Barberas and Dolcettos represent the bread and butter throughout the region, and other native grapes like Freisa, Croatina, and the white Arneis are also noteworthy. Value abounds in the Monferrato, while Alto Piemonte also has its share of thrills to provide.
Every corner of Piemonte is rich with tradition, especially when wine is concerned. It’s no wonder we have been singing the region’s praises for over forty years.
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Where the newsletter started

Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch