Posted from CellarTracker
I just had the 2005 and it was terrific as well. I love nebbiolo and most of the Barbaresco I’ve tried from Produttori, but I never was a huge fan of the Langhe Nebbiolo. That seems to be changing. Not sure if the bottling is improving, or I’m warming up to it. But that '05 was so good and your '07 sounds so similarly good, I don’t know how I was missing the quality in earlier years. Great QPR for sure.
Hi John and Vincent,
I was also blown away by the quality of both the 2005 and 2007 Nebbiolos from the Produttori. The 2007 was so good in fact that I drank this over a couple of meals and left the 2004 cru Barbarescos sitting in the cellar with a glass out of each of them- until I had finished the Nebbiolo '07. 2007 is going to be a superb vintage for Barolo and Barbarresco, and for estates kind enough to declassify a bit of young vine juice in this vintage for basic nebbiolo bottlings, they will supply some of the best bang for the buck Italian wine drinking to be found in the market. But given the quality of the vintage, there will not be a whole lot of nebbiolo bottlings around, and one will be well-served to stock up on them early, as most of the juice will most likely have been reserved for Barbaresco and Barolo bottlings.
Best Regards,
John
I couldn’t agree more, this wine is amazing (not just for the money). I think in my couple short years of drinking wine, this is the only bottle I have drained two of in one week.
Thanks for that input John. Perhaps I’m not crazy after all. Something seemed different with that '05 and now I’ll have to try the '07.
We’ve been blowing through lots of the 2005, 750s and mags. A heck of a nice wine for the money.
If you can find it, the '06 is also quite nice. I recently did a “downscale” Produttori tasting that consisted of the '07, '06 & '05 Langhe Nebbiolos paired with the '05, '04 and '03 Barbaresco normales, and all of the wines merited drinking interest. At least IMO, in recent vintages there is not a huge qualitative difference between their Langhe Nebbiolo and the Barbaresco normale.
Interesting Roberto, did staggering the vintages helped with the comparisons? Which would you say would benefit from more bottle age?
RT
I went to try to buy more of the 2007 this weekend to find it sold out at my local shop (Garnet Wines). However, all was not lost as they have the 2008 in stock. I picked up a few. I noted that AG had great things to say about this bottling as well. Anyone have any thoughts on it yet? I will sacrifice a bottle soon and report back.
Not sure I understand your question, Rich, re: staggering the vintages? I think that Produttori as a general rule always rewards additional aging, so the older wines tend to show more nuance than the younger ones (for example, this thread prompted me to break out the '06 & '07 Produttori Nebbiolo Langhe’s on both Saturday & Sunday this weekend to see how they were drinking, and on both days, through four separate bottles, the '06 came across as more harmonious than it’s younger sibling).
Not to be confused with “Stagger Lee”. You indicated “paired” so I assumed staggered vintages:
03 Normale - 06 Langhe
04 Normale - 07 Langhe
05 Normale - 08 Langhe
Also assumed that the extra 3 years on the Normale would help mellow the tannins a bit, perhaps making them more comparable to the Langhes? Then again, any 03 could be a wildcard IMHO.
If there’re no significant qualitative differences…bring on the Langhes for $16/ea! FWIW, been pleased with some recent Oddero Langhes.
RT
Yeah, I think when they are young like the wines I mentioned, the qualitative difference is very small. The normales are presumably built to last longer, so it’s quite possible that the '06 Neb will taste tired at age 10 (none of mine are likely to last that long unless I lose one), while the normale will be still developing those secondary/tertiary nuances.
Heya John,
You have likely tasted more broadly than I have, but I generally preferred 04 and 06 to 07 in Piedmont. Probably preferred 05 to it as well. Most of the producers I spoke to said they’d make good wines but not their best. Certainly what I have tasted is promising, and 05 is no slouch, but I have been operating under the impression that 04 and 06 are more the real deal than 05/07.
I’m curious what else you’ve tried? Not that I need more Barolo vintages to get excited about, but with all the Burgundy discussion, Barolo gets a bit neglected.
One quick note on the 03 Barbaresco Normale – I’ve had it. It is a pretty good wine contextually, but I would pass on it in favor of 01 or 04/05. Haven’t tasted anything more recent. The 04 Normale was a star for my tastes, but I haven’t tasted it or the 05 in the better part of a year.
The 03 Langhe Nebbiolo that fairly blew my skirt up was the Vietti Perbacco. 03 is definitely a spotty vintage. I haven’t drunk a lot. I think G Mascarello whiffed, not sure what I think of Giacosa yet but not terribly impressed, have heard good things but not psyched to try Cascina Francia unless it gets quite a bit cheaper than it’s already discounted tariff, but the Scavino Annunziata was actually fantastic when I had it.
Josh, I would agree with your ranking of the '03 normale as 3rd in that group - this is one wine where I think Antonio’s initial rating of it suffered a little from “irrational exuberance”, but I will say that the last time I tried it it was finally beginning to show some semblance of an 88 or so point wine. That said, I would be very surprised if any knowledgeable taster of nebbiolo could drink this wine side-by-side today with the '04 and actually prefer the '03. The '05 is another very nice wine, but at least IMO lacks the structure for aging and further development that the '04 possesses. Off my multiple experiences with the '04, I have no doubt that this wine will still be providing a lot of drinking pleasure in 2025, high praise indeed for a normale bottling.
Thanks for this discussion, guys. I have had fresh sappy young nebbiolo wines before and I knew this would be right up my alley, so I found and bought a case of the 2007. I took a bottle to a wine dinner on Saturday, along with the 1996 Moccagatta Vigna Cole.
The dish that matched the young nebbiolo best was a “deconstructed Fall salad” which was a plate with a little pile of sweet yellow butternut squash, a single scorched brussels sprout, a slice of cheese, a slice of pear, and some cooked bitter greens. Some people preferred a white wine but I thought the fresh sour cherry flavor of the nebbiolo just lit up the dish.
This is quite a fun wine, and interesting as well.
Nice note on a perennial Langhe winner.
Looking forward to the 07s…and the Cavallotto is tasty as well.
Hi Bob,whassup?
Bump!