2004 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Ovello- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco (11/19/2018)
Decanted. Dense medium brick-garnet color. Tertiary/umami notes on the nose - savory broth and mushrooms, leather, soil, dried rose hips, balsamic and a little port-like berry fruit that grows more subtle in the glass. Vivid cherry and red plum fruit on the palate evenly matched with floral and earthy secondary integration. Lithe and elegant density in the palate, rounded broad tannins, finishing with lengthy elegant depth. Showing beautifully. Give it some air to integrate the savory aromatics. This bottle was fully mature - especially aromatically. (93 pts.)
I have been finding my '04 Produttori Riservas to be much more enjoyable than the '01s, which I find to be imposing and severe wines. I am not convinced that it’s just a matter of age…I think the '01s will always have more structure than fruit, whereas the '04s seem more balanced. In any event, I agree that the '04s are expressive and enjoyable today, although I am not sure I would consider them fully mature. I would think they have another 10-15 years to go before they would be at risk of fading, and I suspect that (depending on your preference) they may acquire a softer, more mature character with another 6-7 years in bottle…
Are these vintages developing way too prematurely? I’ve had some Produttoris from 2000-2013 and most of them have been mere babies at the moment, showing rather little development. The youngest Produttoris that have started to feel “fully mature” have been from the 1980’s, but most Produttoris that have been obviously peaking have been from the 1960’s and 1970’s.
Hearing that 2004 is fully mature makes me wonder the provenance of the bottle. Although I must admit that I’ve yet to taste that particular vintage, so I really can’t comment how I personally feel about its development.
Otto- I bought this bottle secondary market several years ago from a reputable retailer, so it definitely had a lifespan before my time, but appeared in good shape and the cork was fine, so YMMV. It was stored properly while under my care. In my note, I qualified my opinion on its maturity by referring only to “this bottle.” There was definitely a very savory and tertiary maturity of the aromatics, especially initially. The bottle went quick though (there were four of us), and I was thinking by the end that the aromatics were integrating and moving back toward secondary and primary a bit. The palate was more youthful overall than the aromatics.
Maturity is completely subjective. My “fully mature” is someone else’s “over the hill.”
The 2004 is in a really nice spot, where it’s pleasurable drinking, with some aromatic complexity, and still showing fruit and tannin. At least that is what I got from it back in June. Aldo Vacca even stated that the 2004 and 2005 were in a spot where he really liked them to drink now and over the next several years.
Personal preferences about when to drink a wine alway come into play. It sounds like you prefer more aged character in your wines, and that is completely understandable.
I agree
With good storage the best 2004 Riservas should (also) be pleasurable in 2034
I would certainly not call them mature or fully mature now, but they can be a pleasure to drink nevertheless
Pretty much agree, although I’d point out that I never implied I prefer more aged character in my wines. I certainly enjoy Produttoris at their peak, but I also think that Produttoris start to drink quite beautifully at or after 10 years of age - I’d still consider these two very different things. For me, “fully mature” implies there is not going to be any further development except for inevitable oxidation and the wine falling apart with age - and having tasted dozens of Produttoris from the past +50 vintages, I consider them among some of the slowest-developing dry red wines I know: I would never call one a 10 yo Produttori Barbaresco “fully mature” as I wouldn’t call a similarly aged DRC or Latour either.
Unless, of course, the wine actually seemed that it was truly tertiary and most probably going to go downhill from there. That sounds pretty odd when it’s Nebbiolo we’re talking about. Perhaps Produttori’s Langhe Nebbiolo could be at its peak at 10 years of age, but Barbaresco sounds rather unlikely. But then again, I haven’t tasted the vintage in question, so I’m not claiming anything definitive here.
And yes, it’s true that our mileage may vary - one’s youngster is another’s geezer. Although I’d still want to point out that even though I enjoy older wines, I still prefer wines with some sense of youth to them, being rather sensitive to wines that have become so tertiary they’ve moved on the the anonymous “old wine” territory. I’m not trying to convince people that the wine needs to be borderline Tawny Port before it is at its peak!
Clarifying my semantics- my “fully mature” meant to me that it was mature (showing a comparable degree of tertiary characteristics as secondary and primary). I’d say ‘early mature’ if it we just getting into tertiary characteristics, and ‘late mature’ if it were on the down slope. Fully mature can certainly encompass a wide expanse of time. Apparently that’s not the right answer for some regarding this wine. Maybe it was just my bottle or maybe it’s just the arc of this particular wine. I don’t expect all wines from a given producer to age at the same trajectory, even a producer and region with a reputation for longevity. I certainly enjoyed this and was happy to have had it when I did.
In the interest of science, I opened a bottle of 2004 Ovello tonight. With perfect provenance the wine is not ready. It needs five more years at a minimum.
David, thanks for the note. Mine obviously had some bottle variation. When I opened it I was expecting it to be a little early. I probably benefitted from the variation in that regard. At any rate, I’ll adjust my note in Cellartracker accordingly.
The retailer I bought it from was The Rare Wine Co, and my storage is temperature and humidity controlled. Sounds like it was just an anomaly.
I know I’m a bit of an outlier here, but I’ve given up thinking about when a Produttori will be mature. I think mostly just when it will be enjoyable, which is thankfully quite a broad range. I’ve had some very nice very old ones, but also plenty that, while not fading, had more of a spark at a younger age. This is in contrast to how I feel about many barolos and many red burgs.
I do wonder if the more recent vintages may age differently from the older wines. Anyway, I realize I’m an outlier, but it makes it somewhat easier when grabbing a bottle to open on a given night if you are not so focused on whether it is going to be mature.
I agree that Produttori has a wide drinking window, which is a big reason I seek them out. I like my wines on the mature side overall, but I can get a lot of enjoyment out of (many) youngish Produttori. However, like others in this thread, in my lexicon “enjoyment” or “drinking well” and “fully mature” or “at peak” are very different things. The 2005s are a good example of this-- highly enjoyable today, but not tertiary or probably not at peak for my palate (time will tell).
Overall when talking about traditionally styled wines, I usually conclude that I drank my wines too young when I get to taste said wine “fully mature”. I haven’t had many old vintages of Produttori (a couple from the 70’s, and a few from the 80s’s), but all were outstanding and handsomely rewarded the extended cellaring.
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