This was right across the plate, dead on the mark – pick your metaphor.
From the first nip I took after pulling the cork, this was approachable. But it really showed its stuff after a two-and-a-half hour decant. In fact, I found myself slurping it even before the food was on the table. (Normally I want food with my nebbiolo.) We savored it over more than an hour with veal chops and mushrooms.
Some nebbiolo sour cherries on the nose and a good dose of celery. In the mouth, this is silky, with those same cherries. Tannins are resolved but there’s enough acid and mounds of ripe fruit there to keep it all aligned. It’s caressing – more like a mature Vosne Romanee than a Barolo, way over on the feminine side of the Langhe. Not a powerhouse, and perhaps not the most complex, but so balanced and warm and cuddly. Woohoo! 94 point-ish. Purchased at Chambers Street two years ago.
Thanks for an evocative note on a delicious wine. I can really get feel of what you were experiencing and appreciate that. I love the Produttori and have a fair amount in my cellar, but nearly every time I have an aged one, I am convinced I do not have enough. Lots of people have said it before, but one would be hard pressed to find a more consistently well made, age worthy range of wines at that price anywhere.
85 vintage had such mixed results. Produttori really knocked it out of the park in this vintage in my experience, up and down the line. Thanks also for the note, and also agree with Todd’s assessment above