Producer Profile: Produttori del Barbaresco
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Stephen Brook takes a look at to cooperative of Produttori del Barbaresco...
Producer profile: Produttori del Barbaresco
Some years ago Aldo Vacca patiently explained Barbaresco, as opposed to Barolo, to me.
He probably knows more about the region than anyone else alive, as he has long been the director of this small cooperative. It has 54 members with 105ha.
As well as generic Barbaresco, it releases in good vintages 10 single-vineyard wines, including some from the most prestigious sites – Rabajà, Asili, Montestefano – and they are all made as riservas and aged for four years in casks.
Each wine is made in the same way, so that the terroir is allowed to speak. Winemaking is entirely traditional.
I wouldn’t claim these are the greatest wines of Barbaresco, and there are occasional disappointments.
The sites are diverse and don’t always give equally fine results. But they are honest wines with real typicity, and they are affordable and reliable. This is one of the few dependable cooperatives in Italy.
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Wines to buy from Produttori del Barbaresco
Produttori del Barbaresco, Ovello, Barbaresco Riserva 2011
Spicy, red-fruit nose, with a leathery edge. Suave and juicy, full-bodied but has elegance too, thanks to fine underlying acidity and ripe tannins. Good length, though probably not a wine for very long cellaring. (91/100pts)
Buy: UK £36 AG Wines // US $47.98 Original Wine Club
Drink 2016-2025
Alc 14.5%
Produttori del Barbaresco, Muncagota, Barbaresco Riserva 2009
Rich, smoky cherry and raspberry nose, with floral tones. Rich and full-bodied, mouthfilling, with power but not excessive extraction. Lively acidity and fine-grained tannins give finesse, and the length is impressive. (90/100pts)
Buy: US $54.99 Wine.com
Drink 2016-2025
Alc 14.5%
Stephen Brook has been a contributing editor to Decanter since 1996 and has won a clutch of awards for his writing on wine. The author of more than 30 books, his works include Complete Bordeaux, now the definitive study of the region and in its third edition, and The Wines of California, which won three awards. His most recently published book is The Wines of Austria. Brook also fully revised the last two editions of Hugh Johnson’s Wine Companion, and he writes for magazines in many countries.