Winemaker Notes
This 21 acre single vineyard is close to the Tanaro river. The vines enjoy the heat of the morning sun in the summer which generates an intensely fertile soil. This microclimate produces a full Barbaresco with approachable tannins. Pora is best enjoyed in the first 20 years of aging.
Pairs well with fresh egg pastas, risottos, white meats, red meats, venison and cheeses
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A rich, cherry- and floral-scented red, effusive in aroma, with the core of cherry prevailing on the palate. Though fleshy, this gives way to firm tannins that line the lingering aftertaste. Inviting and full of energy, so decant now or wait. Best from 2023 through 2035.
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Wine Enthusiast
Scents of menthol, new leather, dark culinary spice, cured meat and forest floor lead the nose. The smooth, full-bodied palate shows juicy Morello cherry, pomegranate, licorice and clove balanced by vibrant acidity and tense, refined tannins. An almost salty note closes the finish. This a classic Barbaresco with years ahead of it. Drink 2021–2038.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is the first wine tasted in a lineup of nine single-vineyard Riserva Barabrescos made by Produttori del Barbaresco in 2013. The tasting progression goes from most streamlined to most powerful and complex. The 2013 Barbaresco Riserva Pora starts off this happy continuum with exuberant but simple fruit layers of dried raspberry, wild cherry and plum. The wine reveals pretty color intensity and saturation. It shows mild acidity and a light tannic structure for a more accessible and immediate drinking approach. The Pora vineyard has fertile soils that are rich in nitrogen. There is less limestone here compared to the Montestefano and Montefico vineyards. Fruit from Pora tends to ripen faster than other sites. This was in June 2017.
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.