Which of these older Produttori del Barbaresco reservas to buy?

WINE TALK
1

A local bottle shop has a small selection of back vintage Produttori del Barbaresco reservas on hand and i’m interested to grab a couple to try out. They are all more or less about $50 each so the pricing is accessible for me, just not sure if the value is there depending on the vintage. If you had to buy 2 of these or put them in order to buy/try over time, what would you pick? Looking to drink sooner than later so if that matters for a particular vintage that is still too young, factor that in.

Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Reserva Asilli 2009
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Rabaja 2009
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo 2004
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Asili 2000

In terms of vintages, would it be fair to say that generally 04>00>09? I’ve read some ratings and scores, but not sure how relevant that is now with a few years on them, especially the '00.

2

2009 is much more accessible now.

2000 is likely close to drinking well.

I just had a 2004 last night, and while it had evolved some lovely aromatics, it was very tannic.

Good provenance? If not I would stay away from the 2000 and 2004.

3

I had the 2004 Montestefano last night. There was substantial tannin, but it was drinkable with some superb BBQ brief from Hill Country. Probably needs 5-10 years to really blossom, but a very good wine – a big step up in depth from the 2004 normale I had a week or so ago, and with a lot more tannin.

4

Provenance is unknown. Storage is on basic shelves, not in cold storage.

I forgot to mention that, out of immediate curiosity, i bought one of the '00 Asili’s last week and we promptly drank it. The wine was fine, no apparent flaws. Decanted, then served immediately. Medium body, strong orange hue around rim and the tannins were quite soft and the wine was very perfumed and the flavor was delicate: lightly floral, some soft red fuit with a nutty/woody earthyness on the finish, like cedar/forest floor/mushroom. Very feminine wine overall though, one attribute that i like about nebbiolo. I was expecting something big and massive like it get with current vintage nebbiolo, but with this, the wine was more subdued and mellow in its complexity. I’ll likely purchase another one of these and maybe the '09 Asili as a fun comparison.

5

Just stopped in a shop near the office on lunch break that had an 01 Montestefano below. They had a few bottles and would part with them for about $65 each. Worth the money over the other ones previously mentioned?

Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Reserva Montestefano 2001

6

Hi Joe
Yes, if you want one for the cellar, I’d go for the 01 Monty and pay the extra. If for drinking I reckon I would have gone for the same one as you chose.
regards
Ian

7

Had the 04 Montestefano a few weeks ago, and I was not happy with it. Rough and tough without much fruit. Long way from ready, if ever.

8

While I thought it had a long life ahead, I had a bottle last night and thought it was already showing quite well. Tannins were still pronounced however and not a great deal of fruit, but I usually think of other characteristics in Produttori (like dirt rather than fruit). See comments on thread linked TN: 2004 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Pora - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers

9

Not to mention post #3 above.

10

If only I knew how to link the post from above. Precisely post #3 above.

11

It’s as easy as clicking on the (post) #3 link, which pops this into a window for you to copy/paste
http://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1986004#p1986004

12

Jon,
I visited the winery a couple of years ago, and walked a couple of the closer vineyards, as well as tasted through their entire lineup with the winemaker. Having already visited a handful of wineries in both Barolo and Barbaresco, I was amazed at how tannic all their wines were. Hard to believe they could sell them when they were that tannic. I’ve had many of their wines over the years, and most had a solid ten years on them, but this was the first time I tasted their current release right out of the bottle. Long way of saying, if you want to buy one to drink soon, I’d stay away from the 2009’s. The 2000/2004 should be in a great spot about now.

13

I certainly don’t think of them as particularly tannic by the standards of the region. Where else did you taste?

14

Hi Gray
Thanks for the PM. I thought it might be useful to share on the original thread, in case others wanted to use it. Insert [ and ] where I’ve written it out in text below:
SQUAREBRACKETOPENurl=http://www.example.com]John is a fancy pants show off[/urlSQUAREBRACKETCLOSE

to get
John is a fancy pants show off [wink.gif]

combine that with the clicking on the post number (to get the pointer to a specific post to give
How to point to a specific post, but with your own text

regards
Ian

15

Hard to wrong with any of these wines, but 2001 and 2004 would be far better bets than 2000 and 2009. Rio Sordo, though, may be the weakest wine in their line-up, although still can be very nice experience. With regard to tannins, if the tannins in these wines bother anyone, I’d recommend looking to another region for wine enjoyment.