Barbera disguised as Syrah.

Bruno Rocca, Barbera d'Asti, 2006. 

Big surprise, I blind tasted this for Crozes-Hermitage. Why does everything taste 

Then when Peter said, NO, You're wrong and said tell me the characteristics of this wine and I said, High acid, low tannin, bright fruit with some rusticity - the light went off in my head and I said, Yes, ok - it's BARBERA. HELLO!!

That's why structure in tasting matters - it actually works!

Anyhoo... who cares about that. What I found to be interesting was that it was very smoky and spicy and when we went back and tasted it again Peter agreed that it did indeed taste Syrah-esque. Also there was some new oak on this - or seemed to be. 

It was actually an outstanding wine for the money. $25.99 at the Wine House. I know I've been writing about the wine house a lot lately. Peter went on a shopping spree there for blind tasting wines, but let me know if you know where else this wine can be found, especially in smaller retailers and restos.