Wine Advocate (95)

The 2016 Barbaresco is a tight and beautiful wine that will require more time to unwind and soften. This beautifully balanced vintage is characterized by a tight inner core of fruit that underlines the graceful aging capacity of these wines. The 2016 is shaping up to be one destined for long cellar aging. Now in its youth, the wine offers wild berry, rose and licorice aromas.

Wine Advocate (95)

The 2016 Barbaresco is a tight and beautiful wine that will require more time to unwind and soften. This beautifully balanced vintage is characterized by a tight inner core of fruit that underlines the graceful aging capacity of these wines. The 2016 is shaping up to be one destined for long cellar aging. Now in its youth, the wine offers wild berry, rose and licorice aromas.

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.

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.

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 (98)

The 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano is another profound wine in this lineup. There is virtually no perception of tannin, as the fruit is so rich and so voluptuous. Dark cherry/plum fruit, spice, menthol, licorice and a whole range of balsamic inflections grow as the Montestefano shows off its class. This profound Barbaresco will thrill readers for years to come.

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.

Vinous (96)

The Produttori's 2013 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello is all power, tension and nerve. Even so, the 2013 is remarkably civilized and much less austere than young Ovello Barbarescos usually are. Scents of cranberry, white pepper and mint give the wine its signature high-toned aromatics. The Ovello has a Volnay-like purity to its fruit, with Nebbiolo tannins and structure, of course. If that sounds appealing, well, it is. Vivid, sculpted and impossibly beautiful, the Ovello is simply magnificent.

Wine Advocate (96)

The Produttori del Barbaresco 2015 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello has a very distinct character that is expressed in terms of its fine but present tannic structure and its somewhat fragile primary fruit. The Ovello dives straight into those ephemeral Nebbiolo aromas with an emphasis on licorice, tar, blue flower and campfire ash. If you consider this timeline of Riservas, this wine brings us through that magic threshold in which Nebbiolo starts to show its unique aromatic appeal and mystique. This is always one of my favorites in this series of nine. Production is 18,741 bottles.

Vinous (97+)

The 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello is the most severe and angular of these wines. It will appeal most to die-hard classicists. Chalk, white pepper, mint and sweet red cherry fruit all grace this chiseled, beautifully translucent Barbaresco. As always, the Ovello needs a number of years in bottle to reveal its charms, which in 2016 are many. It is a positively stellar wine in every way.

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!

Vinous (95)

The 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Asili is a real stand out. It captures all the sensuality of the year while retaining the translucence and freshness of Nebbiolo. Rose petal, crushed red berry fruit, cinnamon and spice develop with a bit of coaxing. This is another gorgeous wine from the Produttori. Asili is widely regarded as one of the best vineyards in Barbaresco, maybe the best. This wine shows why.

Wine Advocate (98)

The single-vineyard Sorte O Soro had not been produced since 2016, and the 2019 Sorte O Soro is the next vintage after that. This plot has always shown additional elegance, freshness and salinity since he started vinifying it in 2004, because of the altitude (710 meters above sea level) and the north exposure to the Bibei Valley, where the old clone is planted on fine granite sand and quartz soils. Like As Sortes, this Sorte also fermented and matured with lees in new 500-liter French oak barrels for eight months. It has 14% alcohol with a pH of 3.12 and higher acidity (at 7.5 grams) than the rest of the 2019s. It feels very harmonious, elegant and nuanced with some creaminess, with notes of wet pollen and yellow flowers. The palate reflects the soil, with vibrant granite and very fine sand and electric quartz (saline), and it's also round and powerful from the clone that is planted in the vineyard. This vineyard is in the process of being organically and biodynamically certified. 2,240 bottles were filled in September 2020. I tasted the 2019s and 2020s from Rafa Palacios in Valdeorras. For him, these are two very good years. 2019 had a mild and dry winter and a rainy and cold spring that delayed budding, followed by a mild summer with fewer hours of sunshine, which meant a delay in the ripening process. Harvest was more than one month later than usual, and the grapes achieved very slow ripening and full development of aromas and flavors while keeping the acidity. The harvest started in October and finished in November. It's a beautiful, homogeneous vintage with very good wines. 2020 saw a moderately cool and rainy winter and a dry and cold spring that resulted in 20% less bunches than in 2019. The summer was also quite dry but, fortunately, not too hot. Given the low yields, maturation was accelerated, and the harvest began at the beginning of September for Louro and from September 25th for As Sortes. Given the scarce water, the plants had to work harder deep down into the soil, which marked the wines; the silica and quartz from the sandy soils of O Bolo shaped a saline identity and the wines achieved a lot of elegance and balance. It's a more heterogeneous vintage, and the higher-altitude vineyards behaved better. The 2020 O Soro is out of this world. He gave me a quick preview of the very cold 2021, a vin de garde vintage but a challenging year with a lot of rain. They are in the process of certifying their vineyards (organic and biodynamic), but they have some problems in the vineyards with neighbors who are not organic, so it will probably be faster for O Soro and Sorte Antiga.

Decanter (98)

Sampled from a vat, this is one of the best As Sortes I have ever tasted, comparable to the iconic 2011. It's a prodigy of subtleness and elegance. Everything is firmly delicate in this wine. Restrained aromas open up parsimoniously, with a steely structure like a great Burgundy, but with flinty acidity almost like Grosses Gewächs from Rheingau. Despite the fact that the sample was not yet bottled, the wine had no oak influence, just the indication that it had been aged, as top Godello must. Rafael Palacios is refining his work year after year, reaching the magic of the greatest wines. A top wine, and one to keep.

Wine Advocate (95)

Drawing its fruit from a leased vineyard in Neive, the Roagna 2014 Barbaresco Albesani opens to a medium ruby color with pretty garnet highlights. The wine is redolent of dark fruit, dried cherry, tilled earth and black licorice. There is much more aromatic intensity here than you might expect given the rather subtle and nuanced appearance the wine makes in the glass. The soils in Albesani are fundamentally calcareous, and these conditions add to the perfumed and fragrant qualities you get here. Production for this wine is 230 cases (of 12 bottles each).

Vinous (93)

The 2015 Barbaresco Albesani is gracious, floral and lifted, which is not common in Albesani, where the wines tend to be more powerful. Bright acids and lively tannins give the 2015 its shape and energy. This translucent, inviting Barbaresco has so much to offer.

Wine Advocate (94)

The Pajè vineyard is among the most calcareous in terms of soil composition within the entire Barbaresco appellation. The vines are 50 years old, and those six years of barrel and bottle aging are absolutely necessary. This plot is a little under two hectares in size, and this site has been in family hands since 1953. In fact, Roagna is releasing all its expressions from 2013 at the same time. Thanks in part to the relative youth of the vines (young I suppose only by Roagna standards), the 2013 Barbaresco Pajè's aromas are large in scale and generally more fleshed out. The tannins are also a bit more dry or astringent. The wine shows deep contrasts between the sweet nature of the bouquet and the very sharp nature of the mouthfeel.

Vinous (94+)

Cinnamon, cedar, sweet pipe tobacco and leather are some of the nuances that emerge from the 2014 Barbaresco Pajè. Pliant and open-knit, the 2014 is surprisingly open for a young Roagna Barbaresco, which makes it almost shockingly easy to enjoy even now (in relative terms), in what is the very early going by Roagna standards. Even, so there is plenty of Nebbiolo structure and tannin. Sweet rose petal, mint, tobacco, underbrush, game, and sweet red berry fruit add to the wine's stunning allure.

Wine Enthusiast (98)

Structured but also loaded with finesse, this opens with earthy aromas of truffle, blue wildflowers, new leather and ripe dark-skinned berries. Juicy and delicious, the full-bodied palate doles out succulent Morello cherry, crushed raspberry and licorice before closing on a hint of tobacco. Noble tannins and fresh acidity provide the firm framework and balance. Give it plenty of time to fully develop.