‘Every collector needs one’: Produttori del Barbaresco Ovello Riserva

These wines are hard to beat in terms of value-for-money, says Michaela Morris, who tastes eight vintages of Produttori's Ovello Barbaresco Riserva and gives her view on which years to look for.

‘We didn’t have weeks this hot in June when I was a kid,’ recalls Aldo Vacca, managing director of Barbaresco cooperative, Produttori del Barbaresco.

‘This is doing something to the wine.’ Temperatures when I visit are well into the 30s and it feels more like late July than mid-June.

Inside Produttori’s headquarters, the air-conditioned tasting room offers some reprieve. It looks out toward the western side of the Ovello cru – the crux of my visit.

At almost 80ha, this is the largest Menzione Geografica Aggiuntiva (MGA) within the commune of Barbaresco, encompassing different exposures from west to east. The calcareous soil is uniformly rich in clay, a high proportion which ‘always gives tannins that are aggressive in their youth,’ explains Vacca.

Scroll down to see Michaela’s tasting notes & scores

As one of the northernmost MGAs, it is influenced by the cool northern winds in spring which delay bud-break by up to 15 days with respect to sites like Asili.

‘In very warm years, Ovello gives better results because it retains a beautiful acidity and freshness,’ Vacca continues.

While the late, great Italian wine journalist Luigi Veronelli didn’t deem Ovello outstanding alongside Asili and Montestefano, he did categorise it as excellent, equivalent to Rabajà and Martinega.For Produttori, it’s a particularly significant cru. Twelve of the cooperative’s 54 members own vineyards here, making up 20 of Produttori’s 105ha total. It was also one of the original five single vineyard Riserva bottlings they launched in 1967 – today there are nine.

Tasting Ovello

Vacca has prepared a vertical of every vintage of Ovello made between 2004 and 2014. Tastings like this are rare, even for him: demand for Produttori’s wines is high and the cooperative doesn’t retain much of a library.

As we taste through the lineup, I remind Vacca of the 1978 Montestefano we shared over lunch in September 2007. At almost 30 years old, that bottle became my reference for the ageability of top Barbaresco.

‘The wines of the new millennium are ageing a bit faster,’ he responds. ‘It isn’t the way we are making wine – that hasn’t changed; it’s just the environment we are living in.’

Vacca posits a correspondence between increased heat early in the season and earlier maturing wines.

He also suggests the influence of lower yielding clones which have been planted over the last 25 years. He explains that, in their youth, the wines of the previous century were less elegant, with green tannins which demanded time.

‘Now I am not sure about waiting 30 years for Barolo or Barbaresco,’ he states. Instead, he recommends drinking Barbaresco eight to 12 years from harvest, or 15 to 20 if you are willing to gamble.

Based on this tasting, I would save a bottle of the 2008 Ovello until 2038 just to challenge Vacca’s theory. The 2013 is also a contender for long-term cellaring.

While the other vintages in the vertical may not be as long-lived, none were over the hill.

Besides being particularly taken by the 2008 and 2013, I would happily drink 2005 and 2004 now. And despite the 2009’s imbalance, its personality absolutely charmed me – more so than the 2007, which is more technically correct.

Produttori del Barbaresco’s wines always impress with their exceptional value for money. At the risk of sacrificing my own allocation, I am going on the record saying that these wines should be in every savvy collector’s cellar.

Tasting Ovello Riserva:

Produttori del Barbaresco: Factfile

Founded 1958

Number of members 54

Total ha controlled 105ha (Barbaresco total 751ha)

Average number of bottles/year 600,000

Total ha Ovello controlled 20ha (Ovello total 78.44ha)

Average number of bottles/year Ovello 17,160 & 1,420 magnums

First year of Ovello 1967

Altitude 160-275 msl

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