2016 Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC (2/28/2018)
Fresh floral and red fruit elements show significant depth on the palate. It’s beautiful to smell and surprisingly suave in the mouth. There’s some backbone there, so combined with the depth of fruit it has a mid-term future. Stunning bargain in Nebbiolo.
Posted from CellarTracker
David, how did you find this compared to the profile of the 13 and 14?
Well I have not had the ‘13, but I opened the ‘14 Vietti Perbacco alongside this for comparison, and the ‘16 Produttori blew it away. The Perbacco was good, but showed more a strawberry/cranberry profile with green herbs. I have no desire to own more of it. I could drink the ‘16 Produttori on a weekly basis.
we dont get that bottling in New Zealand, but I grabbed some Grasso 16 Nebbiolo and it was pretty impressive as well, I thought the 13 of the same wine was prettier but this had highly evident but refined tannins and really bright and deep fruit.
16 is going to rock for sure
Agreed. I am really looking forward to the release of the ‘16 Produttori Barbaresco bottlings. Going to load up.
I love that Produttori uses all nebbiolo from the Barbaresco region for its Langhe bottling
I was drinking the Cigliuti '16 Nebbiolo Monday and last night, which was really chewy – quite a serious wine. Evidently it’s all young-vine Barbaresco fruit. I think we’re in for a treat when the big-boy '16s arrive.
Indeed, all from the Barbaresco village. It doesn’t even include wine from Neive or Treiso.
I’ve been hearing very positive things about '16 in Barbaresco, like 15 but fewer heat spikes. I’ll probably skip 15 just to focus on that.
Don’t discount 15,
It will be better than you think
In another thread I said there was some better Langhe values then this wine and some better wines for just a little more. As usual I was wrong. The 2016 is just stunning. I’ve already had it at least 5 or 6 times. I won’t bore people with my notes, but it is beautiful after a half hour decant and has great structure.
The Produttori has so many great wines on offer right now. This one, the 2014 Torre and the soon to appear 2013 Riservas. It’s hard to spend your money anywhere else.
I don’t recall the vintage but the Produttori Langhe Nebbiolo was the first wine I had where I felt like I really “got” what is great about Nebbiolo. It has this beautiful combination of perfume, lightness and structure. My comment was that it has the structure of a Zeppelin, and I mean that in the best way.
Newbie question, but is the Langhe less expensive than the regular Barbaresco bottling? What are the differences?
Scott,
Yes Langhe Nebbiolo is less expensive
Thanks Marcus. Are there any ‘hard fast’ rules when comparing the regular bottling to the Langhe? Meaning, is the more expensive bottle typically a step up when the same vintage?
Scott,
The better lots are used for the straight Barbaresco but Aldo Vacca thinks this particular Langhe is a really great value and nearly equal in quality.
Yes it is, but a step up also means you need to give it a lot more time in the cellar, I buy Nebbiolo bottlings from producers I like to give me a good idea of the vintage, they are aged in tank or botti for a far shorter time than the more serious wines and are generally a lot brighter on the palate, the Nebbiolo bottlings will take some age if you forget them in the cellar but I find them really useful with 3-5 years on them in a structured vintage and straight away in vintages like 09,11 and 2015. Particularly useful for far eastern cuisine. I took a bottle of 2015 Sandrone Nebbiolo last night to our favorite Indian restaurant and it performed very well against the currys and its a favorite of mine at yum cha
Langhe is under $20 yet still all Barbaresco fruit.
The Barbaresco Normale is (usually) under $30.
The Langhe is always a fine value, but this time it’s on a whole nother level.
glad to hear. highly recommend listening to the recent I’ll Drink To That podcast by Levi Dalton that featured Aldo Vacca from the Produttori. A really informative one, some great info on the history of the produttori, some thoughts on recent vintages, the importance of the US market and how it differs from Europe (funny anecdote on how US Italian restaurants seem to be better than many of those in countries close to Italy), and their vinification philosophy. He goes into some detail on how the Langhe Nebbiolo differs from the normale barbaresco, primarily earlier drinking but also produced differently (if I recall correctly, I think the Langhe is aged in some of their large cement tanks?). One of the best IDTT podcasts I’ve listened to (not many overall… Levi was toned down in this one, I could see what others were referring to in terms of somewhat awkward humor in the Bedrock/Morgan Twain Peterson one…).
I think the Langhe is fermented in concrete, but aged for roughly a year in large oak casks. The Torre is fermented in stainless, a bit warmer, slightly longer on the skins, with some extra pump-overs, and then aged two years in wood (the riservas get an additional year). I suspect the Langhe may also use fruit from younger vines.
-Al
Thanks everyone, very helpful. I will look to pick up some of these.