Freisa d'Asti DOC

Freisa is a nebbiolo relative with a split personality, and Asti is its biggest home. The traditional version is frizzante and often off-dry, purple, strawberry and raspberry with a rustic tannic bite that fizz somehow tames. The still, dry Superiore is the more interesting one for a critic: wild strawberry, rose, sour cherry, sharp acid and a firm, slightly bitter tannin that needs a few years or fatty food. Expect something bracing and old-fashioned.