Wine Article
2006 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco
Last edited on 4/1/2014 by brigcampbell
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Here’s a post from the Do Bianchi archives: an interview I did with Produttori del Barbaresco winemaker Aldo Vacca last year where he gives some notes on the 2006 and 2007 vintages. Buona lettura!
Both 2007 and 2006 were very good vintages in Langhe. 2006 saw a warmer summer and it will be a more “fleshy”* wine, with softer tannins, while 2007 is comparable to long-lived vintages like 1996 and 2001.
The harvest came early in 2007, but this was not because of a hot summer. It was due to the fact that the mild, dry winter caused the growing cycle to begin early. As a result, we harvested early. 2007 has intense tannins and high acidity [good signs for long-lived Nebbiolo].
I've translated the winery's 2006 vintage notes below.
The 2006 vintage began with nice spring weather. The warm temperatures in the first half of May caused early flowering around May 25 (flowering usually occurs in early June for Nebbiolo). Temperatures lowered at the beginning of June but without adversely affecting the flowering and fruit set of the vines. These conditions led to an abundant harvest. July brought temperatures higher than average. But August saw milder and more pleasant weather with warm days alternated with cooler and more ventilated days. Unlike other regions in Italy, rainfall was scarce and as a result, the season was relatively dry, especially for vineyards with the best exposure, which were warmer and drier. The abundant amount of fruit made summer thinning all the more important in order to rebalance production and allow for good ripening.
September arrived with healthy fruit with somewhat high sugar levels. But the development of the fruit and its aromas was however delayed, especially in the warmest vineyards with the best exposure. Two intense September rainstorms marked a break from otherwise summery conditions. The first happened around September 10 and this actually helped aromatic ripening to begin again and thus was helpful. The second rainfall arrived later, on September 25 and 26, when the fruit was already ripe. At that point, there was no point in waiting any more and as soon as the sun dried the fruit, we began to harvest on September 29 and we finished picking on October 7 after nine days of good weather that allowed us to harvest excellent, healthy fruit.
2006 Barbaresco will be an excellent Barbaresco with natural alcoholic content higher than 13.5%, with intense color and good acidity. A good wine for aging, from another vintage in a string of good vintages including 2004 and 2005.
= 2006 bottling =
Apparently there are no Riserva in 2006. All of the Riserva wine has been blended with the normale wine, with a distinct exception. 40% of the Riserva wine has been blended with the normale for the standard 750ml bottles, but the magnums are 100% Riserva wine.
In particular, the regular Barbaresco is usually bottled in 3 batches. Each batch is bottled over several days, so has multiple lot numbers. Usually all batches are from the same blend, but in 2006, there was no riserva cru juice in the first batch, 30% riserva cru juice in the second batch, and 50% riserva cru juice in the third batch. From all the reports, I belive these are the 3 batches made of 2006 Barbaresco:
Batch 1 (no riserva juice): Lots 9.097, 9.099, 9.105, 9.113.
Batch 2 (30% riserva juice): Lots 9.120, 9.125, 9.141.
Batch 3 (50% riserva juice): Lots 10.144, 10.148, 10.155, 10.161.
Both 2007 and 2006 were very good vintages in Langhe. 2006 saw a warmer summer and it will be a more “fleshy”* wine, with softer tannins, while 2007 is comparable to long-lived vintages like 1996 and 2001.
The harvest came early in 2007, but this was not because of a hot summer. It was due to the fact that the mild, dry winter caused the growing cycle to begin early. As a result, we harvested early. 2007 has intense tannins and high acidity [good signs for long-lived Nebbiolo].
I've translated the winery's 2006 vintage notes below.
The 2006 vintage began with nice spring weather. The warm temperatures in the first half of May caused early flowering around May 25 (flowering usually occurs in early June for Nebbiolo). Temperatures lowered at the beginning of June but without adversely affecting the flowering and fruit set of the vines. These conditions led to an abundant harvest. July brought temperatures higher than average. But August saw milder and more pleasant weather with warm days alternated with cooler and more ventilated days. Unlike other regions in Italy, rainfall was scarce and as a result, the season was relatively dry, especially for vineyards with the best exposure, which were warmer and drier. The abundant amount of fruit made summer thinning all the more important in order to rebalance production and allow for good ripening.
September arrived with healthy fruit with somewhat high sugar levels. But the development of the fruit and its aromas was however delayed, especially in the warmest vineyards with the best exposure. Two intense September rainstorms marked a break from otherwise summery conditions. The first happened around September 10 and this actually helped aromatic ripening to begin again and thus was helpful. The second rainfall arrived later, on September 25 and 26, when the fruit was already ripe. At that point, there was no point in waiting any more and as soon as the sun dried the fruit, we began to harvest on September 29 and we finished picking on October 7 after nine days of good weather that allowed us to harvest excellent, healthy fruit.
2006 Barbaresco will be an excellent Barbaresco with natural alcoholic content higher than 13.5%, with intense color and good acidity. A good wine for aging, from another vintage in a string of good vintages including 2004 and 2005.
= 2006 bottling =
Apparently there are no Riserva in 2006. All of the Riserva wine has been blended with the normale wine, with a distinct exception. 40% of the Riserva wine has been blended with the normale for the standard 750ml bottles, but the magnums are 100% Riserva wine.
In particular, the regular Barbaresco is usually bottled in 3 batches. Each batch is bottled over several days, so has multiple lot numbers. Usually all batches are from the same blend, but in 2006, there was no riserva cru juice in the first batch, 30% riserva cru juice in the second batch, and 50% riserva cru juice in the third batch. From all the reports, I belive these are the 3 batches made of 2006 Barbaresco:
Batch 1 (no riserva juice): Lots 9.097, 9.099, 9.105, 9.113.
Batch 2 (30% riserva juice): Lots 9.120, 9.125, 9.141.
Batch 3 (50% riserva juice): Lots 10.144, 10.148, 10.155, 10.161.