Barbera on Top: Cipressi Nizza and Le Orme Barbera d’Asti in Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100
Autumn 2023 has brought two exciting news for Michele Chiarlo: Nizza Cipressi 2019 ranked 54th place in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines and Barbera d’Asti Le Orme 2021 gained the 11th spot in the Top 100 Best Buys by Wine Enthusiast.
One of the first producers to include malolactic fermentation in the production of Barbera in the 1970s, these two achievements further confirm Michele Chiarlo’s intuition into the potential of the Barbera grape in foreign markets. These results are the concrete realization of the aspiration to elevate the quality of this grape variety and of Monferrato as its chosen land.
Wine Spectator, a leading magazine in the world of wine, ranked Nizza DOCG Cipressi 2019 at the 54th place in its Top 100 Wines for 2023. Awaited by more than 3 million readers, Wine Spectator’s Top 100 has been compiled every year since 1988, featuring the best wines of the past year, the wineries to keep an eye on and the producers and wines the editors are most excited about. The Top 100 Wines are selected by the editors from more than 9,200 labels through blind tasting. There are four criteria taken into consideration: quality (based on score), value (based on price), availability (based on the number of cases produced or imported into the United States) and the “X factor” (a compelling story and the emotion sparked by the wine).
For the third time, Michele Chiarlo landed one of its wines in Wine Spectator’s ranking, after Barbera d’Asti DOCG Le Orme 2009 (ranked 47th in 2012) and Barolo DOCG Tortoniano 2000 (ranked 87th in 2004). This is another remarkable result for Nizza Cipressi: after winning the title “Wine of the Year” by Wine Enthusiast in 2018, the label received GamberoRosso’s Tre Bicchieri for the very first time this year.
Wine Enthusiast, another powerhouse in the world of wine, has given Barbera d’Asti Le Orme 2021 the 11th place among wines with the best value for money this year. Wine Enthusiast’s 100 Best Buys is the result of blind tastings of over 30,000 wines by the editorial team to identify wines with a price below 20$ and deserving a score above 90 points – Le Orme 2021 scored 94. Only 3,500 best buy wines were identified throughout the year and 100 were chosen to be part of a guide for consumers who are looking for the best value for their money.