2005 Barbera d'Alba

Rocca describes 2004 as "a fantastic vintage, round and elegant from the start. " In comparison, he added, 2005 possesses less material and shows less perfume. Rocca normally does a fermentation lasting eight to ten days, with no post-fermentation maceration, using a combination of rotofermenters and traditional tanks. He does two or three pumpovers per day, "even in the rotofermenters. " Rocca noted that he sets his rotofermenters (think of a cement mixer) to make just three or four revolutions per day. I enjoyed Rocca's comments about his Langhe Rosso, a wine that clearly enjoys a faithful clientele. "I've made this wine since the '80s, when people thought Bordeaux was the best wine in the world," he told me. "But unlike my other wines it's a blend, and it doesn't have the spirit of the place. It's strictly a commercial venture. " Rocca, who recently changed his U. S. importer, sends barely 15% of his wine to America. (Trilussa Wine Company, Greenbrae, CA.