Cascina Barbàn is exactly why we taste new releases each year. The young, ardently natural, Piedmontese wines had our attention last year but didn’t make their way into the store; the lineup was interesting but not quite fully realized.

With their new release of '23s (which we tasted last week), Barbàn nailed their high wire philosophy – which is truly 0/0 – and made a set of irresistible wines.

Golden, orange wines from Timorasso and a mouthwatering red from almost-extinct red varietals – these are gorgeous natural wines that speak to their alpine surroundings (in one case, even fermented and bottled in the vineyard itself).

For going on 15 years, Cascina Barbàn has been quietly tucked into the Apennine mountains just north of Genoa (and importantly, just over the edge into Piedmont). It's the work of two couples – Maurizio Carucci and Martina Panarese, and Pietro Ravazzolo and Maria Luz Principe – who left the city to start a polycultural farm steeped in mostly untouched nature.

Overlooking a dramatic view of the Borbera river and the valley named for it, the farming is generally biodynamic, working with native varieties in older 50-70 year old vineyards. Local villagers helped to identify each vine, and they've found beauty in a range of varieties that includes Timorasso, Barbera and Sangiovese alongside Nibiò, Muetto Mostarino, and other obscure grapes.

"We believe that human beings, although they are often not really appreciable beings, they deserve something more than the usual four varieties of fruit and vegetables..which are good for you, nourish, excite and tell you where from they come and who raised them.” – Cascina Barbàn

As we mentioned up top, the wines are 0/0 and of course contain no sulfur or other additives. Fermentations are mostly in fiberglass tank, sometimes cement or stainless steel depending on the varieties; and aging takes place in a range of vessels from oak tonneau to the outdoor demijohns mentioned below.

2023 is a lineup fully in touch with its surroundings, as thought-provoking as it is delicious:

2023 Cascina Barbàn 'Albera' Rosso, Piedmont, Italy, $34
Local varieties Nibiò, Muetto and Mostarino fermented with 2 months of skin contact in fiberglass tank. Aged in fiberglass, as well. A high acid, high-wire rhubarb-scented red.

2023 Cascina Barbàn 'Pian del Te' Bianco, Piedmont, Italy, $44
Timorasso (which is native to Tortona and Val Borbera!) fermented with 2 months of skin contact in fiberglass tank. Aged in oak tonneau for 8 months. A smoky, honeyed, acid-driven white.

2023 Cascina Barbàn 'All'aperto' Bianco, Piedmont, Italy, $55
A wine that is literally made in the vineyard: Timorasso harvested and crushed in the vineyard, stored in demijohns outside from November-March. “We were curious to understand how a wine can evolve when it enters into a deep relationship with its surrounding environment. Even a landscape can enter a bottle," they write. Fascinating in its oxidation and complexity.

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All photos via importer SelectioNaturel.