Winemaker Notes
Pairs well with egg pastas, risottos, white meats, poultry, red meats, game, venison, and aged cheese.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Most of Produttori del Barbaresco's production is dedicated to their so-called base wine (which enjoy a very strong following throughout the wine world). The 2012 Barbaresco is a beautifully ripe and generous expression that exudes dark layers of black fruit, smoke, leather, grilled herb and Teriyaki smoke. This edition feels a bit thicker and denser compared to past vintages but Produttori's magic truly comes through the longer the wine ages. Given the fleshiness that will potentially evolve with time, this wine is geared up for a prolonged cellar life.
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Wine Spectator
A pretty red, boasting floral, strawberry and raspberry flavors, accented by tobacco and underbrush notes. The tannins are firm yet well-integrated, creating a balanced impression. Best from 2017 through 2027.
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Wine & Spirits
In vintages like 2012, when Produttori chooses not to produce its nine single-cru wines, Barbaresco aficionados take it as a signal to snap up the winery’s normale, which absorbs all of the fruit that would have gone into those bottlings. The 2012 “delivers on all points,” as one of our tasters noted, hitting the classic notes of rose petals, saturated red fruit, sweet spice and earthy tobacco while ratcheting up the volume of brightness and energy. This is one to buy by the case.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas suggesting truffle, ripe woodland berry, menthol, violet and a whiff of baking spice lift out of the glass. The firmly structured palate delivers black cherry, raspberry compote, cinnamon and white pepper while assertive but refined tannins provide the framework.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
A wine that most perfectly conveys the spirit and essence of its place, Barbaresco is true reflection of terroir. Its star grape, like that in the neighboring Barolo region, is Nebbiolo. Four townships within the Barbaresco zone can produce Barbaresco: the actual village of Barbaresco, as well as Neive, Treiso and San Rocco Seno d'Elvio.
Broadly speaking there are more similarities in the soils of Barbaresco and Barolo than there are differences. Barbaresco’s soils are approximately of the same two major soil types as Barolo: blue-grey marl of the Tortonion epoch, producing more fragile and aromatic characteristics, and Helvetian white yellow marl, which produces wines with more structure and tannins.
Nebbiolo ripens earlier in Barbaresco than in Barolo, primarily due to the vineyards’ proximity to the Tanaro River and lower elevations. While the wines here are still powerful, Barbaresco expresses a more feminine side of Nebbiolo, often with softer tannins, delicate fruit and an elegant perfume. Typical in a well-made Barbaresco are expressions of rose petal, cherry, strawberry, violets, smoke and spice. These wines need a few years before they reach their peak, the best of which need over a decade or longer. Bottle aging adds more savory characteristics, such as earth, iron and dried fruit.