Jeb Dunnuck (95)

The 2017 Barbaresco, sourced from 100 hectares and 54 growers, was aged for 24 months in large oak casks. It offers layers of aromatics woven together with tar, forested earth, dried cherry, and sweet tobacco. The palate is ripe and pure, with raspberry leather, tea leaf, and blood orange. It is mouth-filling, with fruit that is long and persistent, fine tannins, and a lifted finish. Finessed and elegant, the 2017 is drinking beautifully now and will continue to drink well over the next 15 years. 2021-2036.

Greg Sherwood MW (94)

We all know when Produttori del Barbaresco decide not to bottle all their great nine grower crus, the resulting wines are all blended into the Barbaresco DOCG normale cuvee. 2018 is just such a vintage and sure enough, eager collectors have been waiting for this super charged Nebbiolo release. On initial examination, the wine shows the most pretty, lifted, inviting aromatics of dried rose petals, crushed coriander, tart red cherries, salty blueberries and a seductive red liquorice complexity. On the palate, there is an attractive translucent purity and silky filigree tannins that combine with a suave, lithe, harmonious concentration of red cherry candied fruits, touches of tar, saline cassis, sloe berries and a finish that typifies true, pure classical Nebbiolo fruit. While the seductive allure of the perfumed aromatics currently outpace the slightly backwardness of the palate fruit density and structure, all the signs in the glass point to another extremely fine and supremely attractive Barbaresco release. Drink from 2022 to 2034+.

Kerin O'Keefe (96)

Camphor, rose, cedar and ripe red berry aromas come to the forefront on this beautiful Barbaresco. Smooth and elegantly structured, the focused palate features ripe Morello cherry, crushed raspberry, star anise and white pepper alongside taut, refined tannins. Fresh acidity keeps it well balanced.

Wine Advocate (95)

The 2020 Barbaresco boasts an ample set of aromas with wild cherry, blue flower, sweet spice and crushed limestone. As always, the wine paints an exciting and authentic portrait of Nebbiolo, albeit with a little more richness and texture in this vintage. This is especially true in terms of the palate, where the wine offers mid-weight intensity with melting tannins. This ambitious release of 300,000 bottles is slated to hit the market in fall 2023.

Wine Advocate (95)

The Produttori del Barbaresco 2015 Barbaresco Riserva Montefico boasts a solid center of gravity with dark fruit, plum, spice and spent embers. Everything about this wine is sultry, velvety and succulent. It goes to follow that the wine's structure is more pronounced, contoured and shapely. This Riserva delivers more sheer fruit weight (in the context of the always elegant Nebbiolo grape) that is carried with grace and poise throughout. Some 16,666 bottles were released.

Vinous (95)

The 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Montefico is one of the stand-outs in this range. It shows the piercing tannins typical of this site, and yet has more than enough fruit to balance those tannins, certainly moreso than wines like the Rabajà. This exposed site benefits from cooling winds from the north, clearly a benefit in 2017. Even in the early going, the balance here is terrific. In 2017, the Montefico is one of the clear stand outs in the range.

Vinous (95+)

A dark, brooding wine, the 2013 Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano comes across as quite virile today, with huge tannins and equally imposing dark fruit. Smoke, leather, licorice and game add to an impression of raw, almost unrestrained, power. There is not a whole lot of finesse here at least not now. The Montestefano is a wine painted in broad brush strokes that emphasize power over elegance. Then again, that is Montestefano. Readers should be in no rush to open the 2013.

Wine Advocate (94)

This is the last wine I tasted in this group of nine from Produttori del Barbaresco. The reason I placed the 2015 Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano last is because it is usually considered to be the most powerful and determined in the flight. However, when you really get down to it, this vintage is more tight, streamlined and ethereal than expected. It is saving the best for later, and indeed, the wine is poised to evolve and open fully many years from now. There is a note of shyness here or restraint. Exactly 16,036 bottles were made, and this Riserva demands patience.

Vinous (93+)

The 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano is a potent, savory wine. Today, the fruit is very much in the background. A brooding, backward Barbaresco, the Montestefano clearly needs time, it is a somber, imposing Barbaresco. Dark plum, earthiness, cloves, menthol and licorice infuse the finish with notable gravitas. There's plenty of Montestefano breadth and resonance.

Jancis Robinson (17++)

Dark, spicy fruit on the nose. Still a little monolithic and embryonic with splendid juicy acidity and coating tannins that melt into the juicy fruit on the finish. (WS)

Wine Advocate (95)

The Produttori del Barbaresco 2015 Barbaresco Riserva Muncagota shows beautifully in this sunny and warm vintage, producing intense and compelling primary fruit with wild cherry, plum and black currant. Compared to the other Riservas, the fruit profile of Muncagota is darker and richer. More significant is the role the tannins play in this wine. They contribute to a long and firm spinal cord that gives structure and muscle mass. This Barbaresco Riserva shows an affinity to shaved truffles over egg pasta, or gamey fowl such as duck or pigeon. Some 16,666 bottles were made.

Wine Spectator (95)

A rich, cherry- and floral-scented red, effusive in aroma, with the core of cherry prevailing on the palate. Though fleshy, this gives way to firm tannins that line the lingering aftertaste. Inviting and full of energy, so decant now or wait.

Wine Advocate (94)

Following the suggestion of Produttori del Barbaresco General Manager Renato Vacca, I am starting off this series of nine Riservas with the 2015 Barbaresco Riserva Pora. This wine is usually the most delicate, slender and ephemeral of this set. However, I can immediately confirm that this is not necessarily the case with this exuberant 2015 vintage. The sunny heat of the growing season has successfully drawn out more fruit weight and intensity in this edition of Pora. The wine overdelivers in terms of aromas, but its streamlined and polished personality follows through to the palate. Those divergent intensity levels will smooth out with more bottle age. Some 16,666 bottles were released.

Wine Advocate (96)

The Rio Sordo cru is known for medium-bodied wines that show elegance and finesse. The 2011 Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo is my favorite wine among this set of new Riserva releases. This gorgeous wine is seamless in approach with balanced aromatic intensity that bridges dark fruit aromas against ethereal notes of cola, tar and licorice. There is an irresistible dash of white truffle buried deep within. The wine is powerful and firmly constructed, but the quality of the tannins is silky and polished.

Wine Advocate (96+)

This wine usually falls somewhere in the middle of the Riserva continuum (starting with the most lithe and elegant wine and ending with the most powerful) presented by Produttori del Barbaresco in this knockout series of nine single-vineyard expressions. The 2015 Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo is another personal favorite. This group of Ovello, Rio Sordo, Asili and Rabajà (that sweet spot of neighboring vineyard sites in Barbaresco) is especially profound in 2015, striking a careful balance between elegance against power. The Rio Sordo offers tight and sharp fruit complete with a little tannic pinch or crunch on the close. Production is 13,333 bottles.

Vinous (94)

The 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo is a serious, somber wine. Black cherry, plum, lavender, spice and menthol show off the darker side of Nebbiolo to great effect. In most vintages, Rio Sordo is an easygoing wine, but not in 2016. Readers will find a potent, brooding yet mid-weight Barbaresco that screams with character. What a way to start this tasting!

Greg Sherwood MW (93)

Produttori del Barbaresco makes its Langhe Nebbiolo with declassified Barbaresco fruit (often from parcels on lower slopes) so production volumes are notably reduced in the better vintages when more of the prime fruit finds its way into the delicious village Barbaresco DOCG or indeed one of the classy nine Cru Riservas. This young Nebbiolo is utterly seductive with intricate perfume that wafts out the glass in waves of wild strawberry, red cherry, violets and pink blossom and an underlying hint of garrigue, vermouth botanicals, blood orange and dry roasted nuts. Very classy and quite individual with exceptional quality year in, year out, the 2019 palate is sleek, silky and wonderfully fresh with a mouth watering acidity, youthful chalky tannins and a real melange of cranberry, red cherry, vermouth bitters and subtle liquorice nuances on the finish. Fabulously elegant and energetic, this vintage is ripe and characterful with impressive fruit concentration but also a supple, elegant texture. Another cracking vintage that should drink well over 6 to 8+ years.

Greg Sherwood MW (92+)

Produttori del Barbaresco makes its Langhe Nebbiolo with declassified Barbaresco fruit (often from parcels on lower slopes) so production volumes are notably reduced in the better vintages when more of the prime fruit finds its way into their delicious village Barbaresco DOCG or indeed one of the classy nine Cru Riservas. This young 2020 Nebbiolo certainly shows great promise with an immediately attractive array of aromatics that boast dark cherry, damson plum, sweet herbs, blood orange and a slight menthol top note. Always wonderfully intense and potent, the palate displays a medium bodied weight of red and black berry fruits, macerated strawberries and sweet cherries with an underlying cool, suave elegance and a fresh acid vitality. The finish is creamy and plush with soft plump tannins, subtle piquant black liquorice notes and a pure, weightless length. Delightfully streamlined and accessible, this 2020 continues a fine run of vintages for Produttori del Barbaresco. Drink from release and over 5 to 8 years.

Greg Sherwood MW (93+)

An impressively substantial wine yet again from Aldo Vacca and this world famous red wine Co-operative. The wine has a real presence showing complex aromatic layers of wild herbs, dried blood orange, botanicals, vermouth spices over pink musk, red cherry and candied red berry fruits. The palate is sumptuously muscular, plump and fleshy, but beautifully mellow and harmonious with a massive red and black berry fruit concentration, spicy herby tannins and an incredibly bold, vibrant acidity that once again underpins the fabulous depth of fruit and fleshy opulence. This is the real deal, a substantial Nebbiolo that simply sings in the glass. Bravo Aldo! I don’t know how you do it, year in and year out, but the Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo 2021 is an absolute winner. Drink on release and over 10 to 12 plus years.

The collection case contains of one bottle each of:

1. 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Pora

2. 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Pajè

3. 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello

4. 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo

5. 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Asili

6. 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà

7. 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Muncagota

8. 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Montefico

9. 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano

The case contains one bottle of each:

Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Asili 2019 - 94 Vinous
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Montefico 2019 - 93+ Vinous
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano 2019 – 95 Vinous
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Muncagota 2019 – 93+ Vinous
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Ovello 2019 – 94 Vinous
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Pajè 2019 – 93 Vinous
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Pora 2019 – 92 Vinous
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà 2019 – 94 Vinous
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo 2019 – 93 Vinous

Produttori del Carema Riserva 2016 is a world-class red wine, originating from Carema, a small region in Piedmont, Italy. The wine's complexity and elegance are credited to the Neive soil, famous for its mineral content that adds to the wine's unique character. Typifying the workmanship of Produttori del Carema, a cooperative renowned for its consistent high-quality wine production, its Riserva edition 2016 reveals the exceptional vintage.

Produced from 100% Nebbiolo grapes, it delivers an elegant bouquet of roses, tar, and ripe red fruits. The taste, while full and harmonious, hints at vanilla, leather and spices. Aged for 36 months in Slavonian oak barrels, this adds to the wine’s deep complexity. Using traditional winemaking techniques, the hand-harvested grapes are fermented in stainless steel tanks, preserving the wine's authenticity.

Produttori del Carema Riserva 2016 offers a distinctive, mature and pleasant palate experience, proving itself a deserving addition to any connoisseur's collection.

James Suckling (100)

This is incredibly complex and complete with white and black-truffle aromas, as well as wet earth and blackcurrants. Then, it changes to tobacco, cedar and wild forest fruit. Dazzling complexity in both the nose and palate. Full-bodied, yet tight and harmonious. The tannins melt into the wine. Drinkable now, but one for the cellar. This estate could one day rival Harlan, which shares its ownership.

Wine Advocate (99)

The best wine so far (although I suspect the 2015 may ultimately enter the picture as well) is the nearly perfect 2013 Promontory Estate. It is simply richer and fuller, with greater integration of tannin, and tastes spectacular. With an opaque, dense purple color and notes of graphite, wet rocks, blackberry and blueberry fruit, some charcoal, and again, loads of spice and loamy soil nuances, the wine has great intensity, a full-bodied texture, and finely grained, sweet tannin. This is a stunner and again, accessible, but its best days are probably a good decade away, as this could very well turn out to be a 40- to 50-year wine.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (100)

The 2014 Promontory has aged impeccably. Dark cherry, plum, leather and lavender are all pushed forward. A wine of density and power, the 2014 shows the richer, more overt style that was in place here ten years ago. I loved this wine on release, and it is still both very special and incredibly young. The 2014 represents a point of transition. It was aged 70% in cask and 30% in small French oak barrels. Today, Promontory is aged exclusively in large-format oak.