2008 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco (12/27/2013)
Popped and poured, which was not the best course of action for this wine. Initially it had a bit of lushness on the palate, then clamped down tight for an hour. Eventually it started to show some rose and red cherry elements, along with some distinct earthy and tar notes. Good acidity and strong tannins dominated the finish. Plenty of material here to endure cellaring for a good long while. Thankfully I have some of the very forward 2007 to drink in the interim.
The 2007 is a much better wine at this point in time. Loved the 2007 and wish I had purchased a ton more. Might give the 2008 another few months and retaste it.
It is going to be interesting to watch the 08 develop and age. Hopefully it will improve and become the wine that we expect from this producer. They really have done a great job and I wonder if sometimes that we expect too much. But they keep turning out winners and at a great prices. It is kind of strange to not be selling the 2008. It is the first time the wine has been off my list in 5-6 years. Probably retaste it in mid Jan. Interesting to note that they bottled the Riserva wines in both 07 and 08.
I think the 08 is a winner.I’ve had a few that showed the aforementioned lush quality with lovely aromatics,but recently I believe it has shut down and will be best left alone for several years…
I’ve been through more than a case of the '08. It softens with about 8-10 hours of air and is drinkable now so long as you don’t pop and pour. But I agree that '07 is more open at the moment.
So after reading and posting a question or two in the recent Barolo threads, I picked up a couple of these. Popped one tonight and love it. It’s extremely well balanced with sophisticated tannins and really good fruit.
My question is - how long should I age this until it becomes secondary/tertiary and hopefully adds a wonderful bouquet? I adore wines that explode from the glass aromatically, and I will patiently await that feature in the wines I cellar. Perhaps this particular bottling won’t enter that stage (how much can one expect for $30?), but I’d like to hear your ideas.
Would love to hear about it. Tasted through some Sottimano a few weeks back, a few '09’s alongside some other vintages and thought the '09 was pretty approachable. Not a large sample set, but the character of these '09’s reminded me quite a bit of the '04 vintage. Curious to hear your thoughts.
I wouldn’t bother cellaring the 2008. You would be better served holding the 2004 or 2006, both of which can be found for nearly the same price as the 2008 if you poke around online. For 2008, buy and hold the single-vineyard riservas, which are ~$50.