2008 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Muncagota- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Exotic and alluring, with notes of cured meats, dried roses, menthol, and spice. Nicely balanced on the palate, with bright acidity and fine tannins. (92 pts.)
2008 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
An interesting wine. Displays herbal notes of agave, currants, and raspberries. Juicy on the palate, but the fruit is subtle and the structure is softer than one would expect. (90 pts.)
2008 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Initially muted, but with extended swirling shows notes of tree bark, dried roses, and dried currants. Nicely balanced on the palate though, with bright acidity and an extended finish. (91 pts.)
2008 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Ovello- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Complex and layered, with floral notes of menthol, pine needles, and dried roses. The palate is robust and assertive, with plum and currants coming through. (92 pts.)
2008 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Montefico- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Deep and intense, with concentrated notes of black current, plum, and black cherries. Rich and robust on the palate, but the excellent structure holds everything together. (93 pts.)
2008 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Paje- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Ripe and rich, with notes of currents and plums. Pretty approachable at far as Riservas go, but perhaps slightly one-dimensional. (88 pts.)
2008 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Pora- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Robust and concentrated, with savory notes of cured meats, plum, and pomegranate. The palate came across as a little disjointed, however. (89 pts.)
2008 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
A complex and sophisticated wine. Floral notes of dried roses, macerated raspberries, dried cranberries, and face powder. Balanced and refined, with waves of juicy cherry and raspberries caressing the palate. 93-94 points. (94 pts.)
2008 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Asili- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
My least favorite wine of the tasting. Herbal notes of agave and menthol. Astringent and tannic on the palate, with a slightly bitter finish. (86 pts.)
Thanks Paul. Interesting notes. I am a huge fan of the Produttori Reservas but have not touched my 2008s yet.
The Montefico is often my favourite in the range, so good to read your favourable comments about it. In recent months I have had the 2004 and the 2005 Montefico, and those wines are all about structure, power and complexity. The 2005 in particular was brilliant, albeit a concentrated, tannic beast. On the other hand the 2004 Muncagota, often the most approachable in the range early on, was a little bland and uninteresting a couple of months ago.
Any sense that your lesser rated wines will come around in time?
The Montefico is beautiful in 2008. I had already purchased the Rabaja and Asili before tasting. Now I do feel sad that I didn’t put my money on the Montefico, but hopefully that Asili will come around (or possibly that you had an odd bottle???) I can always hope.
This is a strange thread to resurrect, but a local wine store is clearing out their remaining '08 Barbarescos, and I wanted to ask the opinion of folks that are best-acquainted with these wines. I’m a novice who is looking to wade into Nebbiolo, and I’ve heard universal acclaim for Produttori del Barbaresco, so I’m wondering: if you had your choice of the '08 Sordo, Montefico, Asili, Montestefano, Ovello, Pora (they also stock the Rabaja, but it is significantly more expensive), how would you allocate your purchases?
If you read AG’s tasting notes on the complete 08 lineup, you’ll get a different set of scores to base your decision on. But if you take common the top scorers from the two lists and the recommendations listed in this thread you’ll be able to make a good list up.
If you are going to go deep on any of these, like more than 4 bottles of any one of them, I would pop one now and see if you really like it. I made what may turn out to be a mistake and bought 9 Pora before I finally poured one and it was disappointing. Hopefully it shut down or was some sort of bottle variation.
Just finishing an 08 Paje now…only fair/lighter, as the OP described, so may need 10+ years. Asili and Rabaja were definitively great 2 months ago, so fer sure recommended. Also bought montestefano and montefico untasted, regular annual purchase.
08 Ovello just got 3 bicchieri from GR, fwiw. It’s usually the most rough n tumble of the lot, if you’re into that style. Might be a nice romp.
Skip the Rio Sordo and Pora, buy 1/3 montefico, and scatter amongst the rest so you get a feel later on for the vineyards. Note that Asili typically doesn’t show all that well young, but generally blossoms with time. And just because Rabaja is more expensive, don’t skip it. It is often the crowd pleaser of the bunch.
If you are new, allow yourself to try them all (not today but a number of years down the line). So perhaps go deeper in those mentioned above but don’t rule anything out until you’ve tried it for yourself (during its window).