Founded in 1958, the priest of the Piedmont village of Barbaresco, looking for a way to boost the commercial prospects of local growers, determined that the best way for the properties to survive was by joining their efforts. He gathered together nineteen small growers and founded the Produttori del Barbaresco.  It has grown since to 56 growers and is now, by far, the most highly regarded wine cooperative in Italy.  (When a member's grapes contribute to a bottling, their family name is listed on the back label.)  Altogether, the properties amount to one-sixth of the vineyards in the Barbaresco appellation. 
 
Produttori, as it’s known for short, has over the years played a key role in elevating the quality level of Barbaresco and is considered among the top producers in this DOCG alongside Giacosa and Gaja.  In great vintages, nine single-vineyard Barbarescos are produced from nine classic premium sites within the Barbaresco village boundaries: Asili, Rabajà, Pora, Montestefano, Ovello, Pajé, Montefico, Moccagatta and Rio Sordo.  Nebbiolo grapes that don’t make it into the single-vineyard crus go into their village Barbaresco which is a great wine in its own right and year after year is considered one of the great values of the region.
 
Most Barbarescos will age just as well and long as their bigger and perhaps more widely know cousin, Barolo. And often they are more approachable than Barolo at a younger age. The 2014 vintage in Piedmont had some problems, particularly hail in Barolo, but Barbaresco enjoyed almost ideal weather conditions.  We have just received our allotment of 2014 cru releases and we have about one case each.
 

Barbaresco Riserva Muncagota 2014
Retail Price: $69.99
Sale Price: $62.97   

94 pts. Vinous Media - “The 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Muncagota is another of the overachievers in this range. White pepper, bright red cherry, floral notes and mint cut through the fruit in this beautifully vivid, crystalline Barbaresco. There is a level of energy, drive and overall nuance in the 2014 I don’t recall having seen in the past. The 2014 is a terrific Muncagota.”


Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo 2014
Retail Price: $69.99
Sale Price: $62.97

93 pts. Vinous Media - “The 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo is the most open-knit and easygoing of these Riservas. Creamy and giving, the Rio Sordo is one of the more available of the Riservas in the early going, an impression that is reinforced by its mid-weight structure. Perfumed floral notes add lift to the dark, red-toned fruit.”


Barbaresco Riserva Pora 2014
Retail Price: $69.99
Sale Price: $62.97

94 pts. Vinous Media - “The 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Pora is a dark, sensual beauty. Deeply spiced and balsamic, with tremendous textural richness, the Pora is utterly beguiling. I can’t remember a Pora with this much depth, textural resonance and brooding intensity. The 2014 needs at least a few years to be at its best, but it is superb even in the early going. I won’t be surprised if the 2014 turns out to be better than this note suggests.”


Barbaresco Riserva Ovello 2014
Retail Price: $69.99
Sale Price: $62.97

95 pts. Vinous Media - “The 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello is bright and piercing, as it so often is, and yet it also has more than enough fruit to fill out its mid-weight, energetic frame. Pine, mint, crushed rocks and sweet red plum build into the huge, piercing finish. The Ovello is another wine in this range that demands patience. Even in the early going it is super impressive. The 2014 s an unusually dense, packed Ovello. It should be terrific in another few years’ time.”


Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano 2014
Retail Price: $69.99
Sale Price: $62.97

95 pts. Vinous Media  - “One of the many highlights in this range, the Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano is superb. A big enrobing wine, the Montestefano wraps around the palate with stunning depth. Today, the Montestefano is utterly embryonic, and yet it exudes depth, resonance and pure class. The Montestefano is one of the more complete wines in the range because of the way it deftly balances fruit intensity and structure. Readers will have to be patient, though.”


Barbaresco Riserva Montefico 2014
Retail Price: $71.99
Sale Price: $65.97

96 pts. Vinous Media - “The 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Montefico is another of the more inward, reticent wines in the range. A core of huge dark fruit virtually covers the beams of incisive tannin that are such a signature of this Barbaresco site. Dark red plum, chalk, cured 


Barbaresco Riserva Asili 2014
Retail Price: $69.99
Sale Price: $62.97

95 pts. Vinous Media -“The 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Asili is somber and dense in this vintage. Silky Asili tannins bring out the wine’s voluptuousness and soft contours. Dark red cherry and plum fruit show some of the typical Asili sensuality, but the 2014 is a powerhouse that is going to need time to come around. In 2014, Asili is unusually – almost uncharacteristically – austere.”
 
*wine critic John Gilman


Recent Cellar Selections:
Paolo Bea Montefalco Rosso – Natural Wine Pioneer
Domaine Trapet – Burgundy Royalty
Gran Enemigo 2014 – 98 pt. Cabernet Franc
Chateau Branaire Ducru - Classic Bordeaux
Altesino Brunello di Montalcino 2013 – Bridge Between Old World and New