Wine of the night — the somm poured us a half glass each from the end of the bottle (ie it was well aerated) into a big ol snifter looking red wine glass and — oh wow. The nose was so wild and open like a cigar ate a whole pack of teriyaki beef jerky. Same on the palate but totally integrated and relaxing and mellow in the best possible way. Great dark red/purple color, very little bricking. Super fun and the best old red Italian wine I’ve had.
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Every time I open these (70s-80s produttori) I start to drink them too early (because I have no willpower), and I’m disappointed until hour two or three, when they start to unfurl. Really flavorful. Red berries, leather, iodine.
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drinking very well now, tannins are fully integrated and the texture is silky, the 14% abv sticks out a bit, that woul dbe the only criticism, that the density of flavor doesn't quite match that one element of structure, but otherwise, still fresh and balanced, with no further reason to age this, though it isn't dropping off either. just the perfect spot now.
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Sample from Heymamalow 2.5hrs after bottle wass popped. Drank in Conterno Sensory. Appearance very slight fine sediment, medium intensity, garnet colour. Legs. Nose medium+ intensity, with aromas of mushroom, meat broth, tertiary earth, dried leaves, dried plums. Developed. On the palate, dry, medium+ acidity, medium+ alcohol (14%), resolved tannins, medium+ body. Medium flavour intensity, with flavours of dried stewed plums, dried leaves, tertiary earth, savoury meat + mushrooms, bits of stony minerality and salt. Some tobacco leaves and hint of sweet floral spice with more air. Autumnal feels on the long finish. Good quality. Time to drink up already.
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my note from a couple weeks back said it well, this bottle certainly benefitted from 3 hour decant... "bought these two '82 'village' barbaresco's with a bit of trepidation to fill out a case for shipping, amazingly the first night (coravin) showed the first bottle at least was fresh and vibrant and felt like it might have 5-10 year left... dark red fruit, with some iron and smoke... vacillated between gritty and pretty over three nights in the end and very nice to taste... more gritty than pretty on night three but certainly not out of gas"
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bought these two '82 'village' barbaresco's with a bit of trepidation to fill out a case for shipping, amazingly the first night (coravin) showed the first bottle at least was fresh and vibrant and felt like it might have 5-10 year left... dark red fruit, with some iron and smoke... vacillated between gritty and pretty over three nights in the end and very nice to taste... more gritty than pretty on night three but certainly not out of gas
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This was a privately bottled wine sold by Chambers St in 2020. The cork was in good condition and there was nothing about the wine to suggest it wasn't what was advertised. After three hours in the decanter, some cherry and rose appeared with the tertiary elements. Very nice. I'd like to try one corked at the Produttori.
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A traditionalist Barbaresco, fermented in stainless steel tanks and macerated with the skins for 25-30 days. 14% alcohol. Decanted for 2 hours. Tasted in Produttori del Barbaresco 2016-1970 vertical.
Translucent and still surprisingly youthful garnet color with a pale, subtly brick-orange rim. Ripe, fragrant and very attractive nose with classic aged Nebbiolo aromas of sweet black cherries, fresh Morello cherries, some wizened fig and pruney fruit, a little bit of pipe tobacco, light notes of tar, a hint of dried flowers and potpourri and a touch of cooked carrot. The wine is ripe, quite weighty and beautifully silky on the palate with a full body and complex flavors of juicy dark berries, pipe tobacco, some meaty umami, a little bit of sweet black cherry, light leathery notes, a sweet, lifted hint of plum liqueur and a touch of sour cherry bitterness. The wine is impressively structured with its high acidity and still rather grippy medium-plus tannins. The finish is long, powerful and impressively complex with developed, savory flavors of red cherries, some meaty umami, a little bit of leather, light plummy tones, a ferrous hint of blood, a touch of tar and a subtle undercurrent of sour cherry bitterness which serves as a wonderful counterpoint to the sweeter taste in the midpalate. The firm tannins make the wine and on a moderately grippy note.
This is consistently an outstanding vintage of Produttori del Barbaresco, drinking beautifully every single time. The wine has resolved quite a bit, coming across as enjoyably evolved, yet at the same time retaining quite a bit of seductive, youthful vibrancy. The overall feel is still very structured and while the wine isn't a youngster anymore, it is obvious there is still room for further improvement - even though the wine is clocking at almost 40 years! Astounding depth and complexity. Most likely the best 1980's vintage and also among some of the best Produttori vintages ever. Very highly recommended. Good value at 59€.
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I must've lost my notes, because I thought I wrote this one down and apparently didn't. Ah well, it was in good condition and seemed well cared for. Stilll had some muddled fruit, lots of dusty notes. Wish I had my formal notes because I remember this having lots of complexity and aged nuance.
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Nose very closed on opening. Decanted for six hours. Ahh....that's much better. Still going strong after eight hours in the decanter. Rose petal, mushroom, balsamic and hints of sweet fruits. Tannins galore with good acid to match. Long finish.
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This wine completely resurrected itself over the time it was slow-oxing. Opened at noon and tasted: terrible. an hour later: no change. poured brown, thin, acidic, fruitless, and tired. even opened my backup bottle for dinner. At dinner 6 hours later though this wine had transformed. ruby red with only mild bricking, filled out the body, still had a balsamic mushroomy note but was actually driven by some brambly fruits first and foremost. couldn't believe it. glad I dump it at hour one! never reached the heights I was hoping for, hence the 90, but definitely wins for biggest comeback.
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I bought this bottle from a trustworthy merchant about two years ago. The bottle was in good condition; good filling-level, the cork came out in one piece, with minimal seepage and some mould under the capsule. The wine was medium- to dark garnet in colour and offered some berry notes, earthy notes , mushroom and spice notess as well as hints of blood, iron and mint, with supporting acidity, mostly resolved tannin, moderate heat from the alcohol and good length. It became a little drying on the end. Evolved and much less convincing than the bottles others described.
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While I didn’t give this much air, you should give it 2 to maybe 4 hours in a decanter. Balslamic, somewhat hidden behind dusty and still prominent tannins. Smooth, underlying fruits just peeking out from underneath. I have my doubts that this will shed its tannic shield without further drop off of fruit. I can’t say to consume now because this has much more time left - probably to 2030 or more - but I wonder what would survive. I firmly think it is worth trying though if you have time on your watch. Still an almost deep red color, stunning nose of aged spices and forest floor. The fruit is improving leaving a spectacular mid palate feeling and taste. So enjoyable.
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A Piedmont Night (Michael's M's home): Opened and then decanted off sediment at dinner. Tasted about 1h later. Lifted red cherries, earth and hints of flowers. Sweet ripe black cherries on the palate with added earth, dark caramel and the barest hint of oxidation. Significant tannins still on the back end. Finishes nicely with layers of flavor coming through. My other co-favorite of the night.
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Dinner at Osteria taStè, Barbaresco: We bought this bottle on the basis of its good colour. It proved pretty sound. The bouquet dominated by citrus, I thought grapefruit. Also, damp soil, porcini, cigar, sweet smoke and dried red fruit. On palate, an evolved, honest and humble wine. The flavour profile was mushroom, earth, balsamico, preserved red fruit and tobacco. It paired very well with my rabbit main course. I agreed with Thierry in preferring this Produttori over the Cortese and in his saying “this is not better than the 1974 Produttori Normale we had on our last trip”. I did however prefer this 1982 over the 1978 Produttori Normale we drank earlier on this trip. Excellent!
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Really nice bottle. Medium brown / crimson hue. Was firing right out of the bottle. Double decanted for 6hrs and served with ny strip roast. Tar, leaves. And a slightly syrupy caramel note that gave a bass (but not roasted) note.
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Opened around noon, decanted off sediment (caked almost entirely at the bottom) at 5:45, began drinking from Riedel burgundy stems around 6:15. At first some volatility on the nose and hints of some madeira and caramel. Color was a little dusty at first despite 4 weeks standing up and decanting off sediment. Within 5 - 10 minutes, though, the color improved and cleared, taking on a more solidly red hue and the oxidative notes faded. The palate and nose both changed almost constantly throughout the drinking window of an hour or so. First it took on weight, and the red fruit at the core - a little cough syrupy - became more focused. The caramel notes never quite went away, they blended in more with air, and some nice floral notes joined in. The finish was lingering and satisfying. The acid was a little out of balance on its own, however when tasted with our beautiful roast lamb, that improved. Fully mature, probably a few years past prime, showing more or less as I'd expect from a the normale bottling at this age from an Italian passive cellar, and exhibiting all the right characteristics, just not the best example of them. That said, we both found this very enjoyable more than great, though people not drawn to well aged nebbiolo might have found it too developed. At the end, it started to fade and dissipate a little, while still taking weight at the mid-palate for me (JR disagreed). I'd give this a solid B- without food and high B with the lamb. It's been a while since we opened a nicely aged nebbiolo and it didn't have to be outstanding to make me happy.
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Amazing juice. Dark red colour, tobacco and red berries on the nose. Sophisticated palate, balanced with notes of cherries, rose hip and herbs. In a perfect drinking window now!
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Acker Auction - June 2018 (Laduree NYC W Broadway): Have never had one of these with this much age, but it was fun. I didn't take any detailed notes unfortunately. I remember it had a good aged character. Touch of the library. Fruit more faded, but the secondary and tertiary carry the wine. It's nice.
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Fantastic wine. Not going to get better IMO, and would drink up over the next 5 or so years. Lots of acidity with red cherry fruit, floral notes and a bit of leather. Wonderful nose. Surprisingly dark in the glass. Tannins are fully resolved.
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Has a little bitter chocolate and plenty of earth. As it breathes up there's a core of red fruit. It has good intensity and some tar and roses notes. There's still good grip and length is excellent.
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Quite translucent, developed dark garnet color with moderate bricking. A bit more restrained and more savory bouquet compared to the sweeter and more expressive vintages of '83, '85 and '86. The nose shows understated, yet very attractive and elegant finesse expressed in nuances of withered flowers, Morello cherries, dried dark cherries and dark-skinned berries; underneath there are some dusty cedar, tar, hints of bright minerality and a whiff of pruney fruit. The wine is medium-bodied and very structured - even positively aggressive - with bright, racy acidity and intense, grippy tannins. Ripe, powerful flavors of red cherry, plums, some sour cherry, a little tar and a hint of blood. Rich yet tight, grippy and tannic finish with layered flavors of sour cherry, tart lingonberry, some sweeter plummy fruit, a hint of tar and a good amount of bitterness giving a lovely counterpoint to the sweet-and-sour fruit. The utterly tasty finish is very long, complex and persistent.
A real powerhouse of Barbaresco that is showing surprisingly little maturity despite its age of nearly 34 years. Sure, the wine is obviously old, but nowhere near as developed as the other 80's Barbies in this vertical. Not as straightforward as many other mature Produttoris, as this one shows more depth, complexity and layer of flavors, resulting in a wine of exceeding finesse and elegance. Still on its way up, although the peak is getting close. Will keep easily for decades more. Stunning.
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Piemonte Red Wine Dinner Featuring Two Older Produttori Wines (Perbacco, San Francisco): Tasted next to the '85 version of the same cuvée. This was even more deeply colored and not as crystal clear. More burnt rubber funk at first, but this dissipated to reveal deep kirsch/black cherry and blueberry aromas and a decent amount of fennel. Bigger and riper than its younger counterpart with a tad less acidity. Once again, amazingly lively fruit for a wine that's now over 33 years old. Round remnant tannin and a stronger core of clay and earth than the younger wine expressed. Relatively speaking, this is all about power, while the 1985 features more seductive finesse. Another tour de force considering that it is not a single cru and over thirty years old.
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Chicago Produttori Normale Dinner (Osteria Langhe): This is a gorgeous wine that's still drinking with youthful exuberance. Just a hair below the 1967 tonight. The aromatic is spice driven with youthful red cherry, florals, herbs, tar and earth. Oh my, the palate is just killing it -- powerful sweet cherry fruit with moderate juicy acidity that provides lift and precision. Just pure and gorgeous.
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Chicago ♥ Produttori (Chicago, IL): (t–12 hours) This has a lot of bottle funk to it -- meat and earth mostly, though the palate does show an understated amount of sweet red fruit and florals. Pretty convincing wine, even at first taste. (Dinner) As we move up in the years, the wines seem to get denser and bigger, but the quality doesn't drop off at all. This is deeper and even more powerful than the 1974. It's around this point where the tannins start to be more apparent -- they've been sitting quietly in the background in the older bottles. Again, this is a fruit-driven wine, with sweet plums and berries at the forefront.
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A good dose of earth and animale on the nose. A really, really stinky cork initially let me to think this had been infected by some nasty critter or other. Thank goodness I was wrong. A relatively soft texture, but there's still some potential for this to unwind some more. Decent amount of soft and sweet red fruit as well.
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From magnum, and so much more than the '74 in 750 ml. Here harmony on the palate, less tobacco on the nose, and rich on the palate. Of course, from magnum, so I would guess the 750 ml should be drunk up now.
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Heavy bricking. Spiced figs, mint, blackberries, honey, luden's cough drop and leather on a surprisingly lovely nose. Cherry, plum, blackberry, mint on the palate. Sara tasted liquorice, and I got it faintly though she noticed it more. Fairly fine but active tannins on the back end. Very good length, or at least an extreme upside surprise given some recent(ish) disappointments with older Piemontese wines. A really nice surprise.
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Cork shattered, ran through cheesecloth. Appearance was slight bricking at rim, murky (most likely because of decanting). The nose was good from the beginning with floral notes, cherries, tea and spice. Burgundian. Medium+ acidity...tannins were smooth but certainly present. A bit of tar and rose on the taste with a nice lengthy finish.
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Rotating Dinner Series-Wines Jimmy Likes (Acadia, Chicago IL): Nose: At first the nose seemed a bit flawed as there was some VA to it, but it blew off with air and revealed red fruits, rose hips, dried cherries, roasted herbs, and a touch of florals.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium/high acidity and sneaky tannins. The feel is very silky and lithe with red fruits, tar, dried red cherries, spices, and bits of rose hips.
Overall: Once this opened up it was a lovely mature Barbaresco. This showed the perfume and poise that you want from a wine of this age along with being a pleasure to drink.
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Young and still full of life. Rose petals, leather saddle on the nose, the core is stern, sturdy enough for another 10-20 years. Let thius baby sleep some more. Winemaker responsible for this wine (on the right)
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4/16/2024 - sh6k wrote: 97 Points
Wine of the night — the somm poured us a half glass each from the end of the bottle (ie it was well aerated) into a big ol snifter looking red wine glass and — oh wow. The nose was so wild and open like a cigar ate a whole pack of teriyaki beef jerky. Same on the palate but totally integrated and relaxing and mellow in the best possible way. Great dark red/purple color, very little bricking. Super fun and the best old red Italian wine I’ve had.
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4/9/2023 - Gunakadeit Likes this wine: 94 Points
Every time I open these (70s-80s produttori) I start to drink them too early (because I have no willpower), and I’m disappointed until hour two or three, when they start to unfurl. Really flavorful. Red berries, leather, iodine.
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2/19/2023 - Barsacpinci wrote:
This was nice but a bit one dimensional compared to the others we had that night.
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10/7/2022 - jcha24 wrote:
this drank really well and benefited from about an hour of air. nicely resolved.
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8/5/2022 - vintage_whine wrote:
drinking very well now, tannins are fully integrated and the texture is silky, the 14% abv sticks out a bit, that woul dbe the only criticism, that the density of flavor doesn't quite match that one element of structure, but otherwise, still fresh and balanced, with no further reason to age this, though it isn't dropping off either. just the perfect spot now.
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1/7/2022 - Derek Darth Taster wrote: 91 Points
Sample from Heymamalow 2.5hrs after bottle wass popped. Drank in Conterno Sensory.
Appearance very slight fine sediment, medium intensity, garnet colour. Legs.
Nose medium+ intensity, with aromas of mushroom, meat broth, tertiary earth, dried leaves, dried plums. Developed.
On the palate, dry, medium+ acidity, medium+ alcohol (14%), resolved tannins, medium+ body. Medium flavour intensity, with flavours of dried stewed plums, dried leaves, tertiary earth, savoury meat + mushrooms, bits of stony minerality and salt. Some tobacco leaves and hint of sweet floral spice with more air. Autumnal feels on the long finish.
Good quality. Time to drink up already.
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12/27/2021 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 92 Points
my note from a couple weeks back said it well, this bottle certainly benefitted from 3 hour decant... "bought these two '82 'village' barbaresco's with a bit of trepidation to fill out a case for shipping, amazingly the first night (coravin) showed the first bottle at least was fresh and vibrant and felt like it might have 5-10 year left... dark red fruit, with some iron and smoke... vacillated between gritty and pretty over three nights in the end and very nice to taste... more gritty than pretty on night three but certainly not out of gas"
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12/9/2021 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 92 Points
bought these two '82 'village' barbaresco's with a bit of trepidation to fill out a case for shipping, amazingly the first night (coravin) showed the first bottle at least was fresh and vibrant and felt like it might have 5-10 year left... dark red fruit, with some iron and smoke... vacillated between gritty and pretty over three nights in the end and very nice to taste... more gritty than pretty on night three but certainly not out of gas
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3/29/2021 - prof b wrote: 93 Points
This was a privately bottled wine sold by Chambers St in 2020. The cork was in good condition and there was nothing about the wine to suggest it wasn't what was advertised. After three hours in the decanter, some cherry and rose appeared with the tertiary elements. Very nice. I'd like to try one corked at the Produttori.
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10/24/2020 - forceberry wrote: 95 Points
A traditionalist Barbaresco, fermented in stainless steel tanks and macerated with the skins for 25-30 days. 14% alcohol. Decanted for 2 hours. Tasted in Produttori del Barbaresco 2016-1970 vertical.
Translucent and still surprisingly youthful garnet color with a pale, subtly brick-orange rim. Ripe, fragrant and very attractive nose with classic aged Nebbiolo aromas of sweet black cherries, fresh Morello cherries, some wizened fig and pruney fruit, a little bit of pipe tobacco, light notes of tar, a hint of dried flowers and potpourri and a touch of cooked carrot. The wine is ripe, quite weighty and beautifully silky on the palate with a full body and complex flavors of juicy dark berries, pipe tobacco, some meaty umami, a little bit of sweet black cherry, light leathery notes, a sweet, lifted hint of plum liqueur and a touch of sour cherry bitterness. The wine is impressively structured with its high acidity and still rather grippy medium-plus tannins. The finish is long, powerful and impressively complex with developed, savory flavors of red cherries, some meaty umami, a little bit of leather, light plummy tones, a ferrous hint of blood, a touch of tar and a subtle undercurrent of sour cherry bitterness which serves as a wonderful counterpoint to the sweeter taste in the midpalate. The firm tannins make the wine and on a moderately grippy note.
This is consistently an outstanding vintage of Produttori del Barbaresco, drinking beautifully every single time. The wine has resolved quite a bit, coming across as enjoyably evolved, yet at the same time retaining quite a bit of seductive, youthful vibrancy. The overall feel is still very structured and while the wine isn't a youngster anymore, it is obvious there is still room for further improvement - even though the wine is clocking at almost 40 years! Astounding depth and complexity. Most likely the best 1980's vintage and also among some of the best Produttori vintages ever. Very highly recommended. Good value at 59€.
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9/12/2020 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 90 Points
I must've lost my notes, because I thought I wrote this one down and apparently didn't. Ah well, it was in good condition and seemed well cared for. Stilll had some muddled fruit, lots of dusty notes. Wish I had my formal notes because I remember this having lots of complexity and aged nuance.
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4/17/2020 - wp_drinkers Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nose very closed on opening. Decanted for six hours. Ahh....that's much better. Still going strong after eight hours in the decanter. Rose petal, mushroom, balsamic and hints of sweet fruits. Tannins galore with good acid to match. Long finish.
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12/16/2019 - mattstolz11 Likes this wine: 90 Points
This wine completely resurrected itself over the time it was slow-oxing. Opened at noon and tasted: terrible. an hour later: no change. poured brown, thin, acidic, fruitless, and tired. even opened my backup bottle for dinner. At dinner 6 hours later though this wine had transformed. ruby red with only mild bricking, filled out the body, still had a balsamic mushroomy note but was actually driven by some brambly fruits first and foremost. couldn't believe it. glad I dump it at hour one! never reached the heights I was hoping for, hence the 90, but definitely wins for biggest comeback.
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12/1/2019 - PSPatrick wrote: 88 Points
I bought this bottle from a trustworthy merchant about two years ago. The bottle was in good condition; good filling-level, the cork came out in one piece, with minimal seepage and some mould under the capsule. The wine was medium- to dark garnet in colour and offered some berry notes, earthy notes , mushroom and spice notess as well as hints of blood, iron and mint, with supporting acidity, mostly resolved tannin, moderate heat from the alcohol and good length. It became a little drying on the end. Evolved and much less convincing than the bottles others described.
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8/27/2019 - Steve Brickley Likes this wine: 94 Points
While I didn’t give this much air, you should give it 2 to maybe 4 hours in a decanter. Balslamic, somewhat hidden behind dusty and still prominent tannins. Smooth, underlying fruits just peeking out from underneath. I have my doubts that this will shed its tannic shield without further drop off of fruit. I can’t say to consume now because this has much more time left - probably to 2030 or more - but I wonder what would survive. I firmly think it is worth trying though if you have time on your watch. Still an almost deep red color, stunning nose of aged spices and forest floor. The fruit is improving leaving a spectacular mid palate feeling and taste. So enjoyable.
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6/22/2019 - James Kim Likes this wine: 93 Points
A Piedmont Night (Michael's M's home): Opened and then decanted off sediment at dinner. Tasted about 1h later. Lifted red cherries, earth and hints of flowers. Sweet ripe black cherries on the palate with added earth, dark caramel and the barest hint of oxidation. Significant tannins still on the back end. Finishes nicely with layers of flavor coming through. My other co-favorite of the night.
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1/2/2019 - HowardNZ Likes this wine:
Dinner at Osteria taStè, Barbaresco: We bought this bottle on the basis of its good colour. It proved pretty sound. The bouquet dominated by citrus, I thought grapefruit. Also, damp soil, porcini, cigar, sweet smoke and dried red fruit. On palate, an evolved, honest and humble wine. The flavour profile was mushroom, earth, balsamico, preserved red fruit and tobacco. It paired very well with my rabbit main course. I agreed with Thierry in preferring this Produttori over the Cortese and in his saying “this is not better than the 1974 Produttori Normale we had on our last trip”. I did however prefer this 1982 over the 1978 Produttori Normale we drank earlier on this trip. Excellent!
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12/28/2018 - R.H. Likes this wine:
Really nice bottle. Medium brown / crimson hue. Was firing right out of the bottle. Double decanted for 6hrs and served with ny strip roast. Tar, leaves. And a slightly syrupy caramel note that gave a bass (but not roasted) note.
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12/3/2018 - NYC_Maenad Likes this wine:
Opened around noon, decanted off sediment (caked almost entirely at the bottom) at 5:45, began drinking from Riedel burgundy stems around 6:15. At first some volatility on the nose and hints of some madeira and caramel. Color was a little dusty at first despite 4 weeks standing up and decanting off sediment. Within 5 - 10 minutes, though, the color improved and cleared, taking on a more solidly red hue and the oxidative notes faded. The palate and nose both changed almost constantly throughout the drinking window of an hour or so. First it took on weight, and the red fruit at the core - a little cough syrupy - became more focused. The caramel notes never quite went away, they blended in more with air, and some nice floral notes joined in. The finish was lingering and satisfying. The acid was a little out of balance on its own, however when tasted with our beautiful roast lamb, that improved. Fully mature, probably a few years past prime, showing more or less as I'd expect from a the normale bottling at this age from an Italian passive cellar, and exhibiting all the right characteristics, just not the best example of them. That said, we both found this very enjoyable more than great, though people not drawn to well aged nebbiolo might have found it too developed. At the end, it started to fade and dissipate a little, while still taking weight at the mid-palate for me (JR disagreed). I'd give this a solid B- without food and high B with the lamb. It's been a while since we opened a nicely aged nebbiolo and it didn't have to be outstanding to make me happy.
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11/23/2018 - Larre Likes this wine: 94 Points
Amazing juice. Dark red colour, tobacco and red berries on the nose. Sophisticated palate, balanced with notes of cherries, rose hip and herbs. In a perfect drinking window now!
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7/9/2018 - Gunakadeit Likes this wine: 95 Points
This is ready for prime time. Nose was a little funky at first but that blew off quickly. Spectacular wine from a great vintage.
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6/20/2018 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Acker Auction - June 2018 (Laduree NYC W Broadway): Have never had one of these with this much age, but it was fun. I didn't take any detailed notes unfortunately. I remember it had a good aged character. Touch of the library. Fruit more faded, but the secondary and tertiary carry the wine. It's nice.
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10/14/2017 - cadamson Likes this wine: 93 Points
Fantastic wine. Not going to get better IMO, and would drink up over the next 5 or so years. Lots of acidity with red cherry fruit, floral notes and a bit of leather. Wonderful nose. Surprisingly dark in the glass. Tannins are fully resolved.
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7/30/2017 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
Has a little bitter chocolate and plenty of earth. As it breathes up there's a core of red fruit. It has good intensity and some tar and roses notes. There's still good grip and length is excellent.
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8/15/2016 - Lype Likes this wine: 92 Points
Refined, elegant and powerful, at same time, these opposites attract me. Nice fruit driven, not as much acidity as in some other vintages.
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8/15/2016 - forceberry wrote: 95 Points
Quite translucent, developed dark garnet color with moderate bricking. A bit more restrained and more savory bouquet compared to the sweeter and more expressive vintages of '83, '85 and '86. The nose shows understated, yet very attractive and elegant finesse expressed in nuances of withered flowers, Morello cherries, dried dark cherries and dark-skinned berries; underneath there are some dusty cedar, tar, hints of bright minerality and a whiff of pruney fruit. The wine is medium-bodied and very structured - even positively aggressive - with bright, racy acidity and intense, grippy tannins. Ripe, powerful flavors of red cherry, plums, some sour cherry, a little tar and a hint of blood. Rich yet tight, grippy and tannic finish with layered flavors of sour cherry, tart lingonberry, some sweeter plummy fruit, a hint of tar and a good amount of bitterness giving a lovely counterpoint to the sweet-and-sour fruit. The utterly tasty finish is very long, complex and persistent.
A real powerhouse of Barbaresco that is showing surprisingly little maturity despite its age of nearly 34 years. Sure, the wine is obviously old, but nowhere near as developed as the other 80's Barbies in this vertical. Not as straightforward as many other mature Produttoris, as this one shows more depth, complexity and layer of flavors, resulting in a wine of exceeding finesse and elegance. Still on its way up, although the peak is getting close. Will keep easily for decades more. Stunning.
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5/10/2016 - fine137 wrote: flawed
Flawed
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1/2/2016 - drwine2001 wrote:
Piemonte Red Wine Dinner Featuring Two Older Produttori Wines (Perbacco, San Francisco): Tasted next to the '85 version of the same cuvée. This was even more deeply colored and not as crystal clear. More burnt rubber funk at first, but this dissipated to reveal deep kirsch/black cherry and blueberry aromas and a decent amount of fennel. Bigger and riper than its younger counterpart with a tad less acidity. Once again, amazingly lively fruit for a wine that's now over 33 years old. Round remnant tannin and a stronger core of clay and earth than the younger wine expressed. Relatively speaking, this is all about power, while the 1985 features more seductive finesse. Another tour de force considering that it is not a single cru and over thirty years old.
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8/29/2015 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 93 Points
Bricking medium red violet color; aromatic, tart cherry, sandalwood, incense nose; tasty, mature, dried cherry, sandalwood, spice palate; medium-plus finish
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4/23/2015 - Nanda Likes this wine: 95 Points
Chicago Produttori Normale Dinner (Osteria Langhe): This is a gorgeous wine that's still drinking with youthful exuberance. Just a hair below the 1967 tonight. The aromatic is spice driven with youthful red cherry, florals, herbs, tar and earth. Oh my, the palate is just killing it -- powerful sweet cherry fruit with moderate juicy acidity that provides lift and precision. Just pure and gorgeous.
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4/23/2015 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Chicago ♥ Produttori (Chicago, IL): (t–12 hours) This has a lot of bottle funk to it -- meat and earth mostly, though the palate does show an understated amount of sweet red fruit and florals. Pretty convincing wine, even at first taste. (Dinner) As we move up in the years, the wines seem to get denser and bigger, but the quality doesn't drop off at all. This is deeper and even more powerful than the 1974. It's around this point where the tannins start to be more apparent -- they've been sitting quietly in the background in the older bottles. Again, this is a fruit-driven wine, with sweet plums and berries at the forefront.
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3/6/2015 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
A good dose of earth and animale on the nose. A really, really stinky cork initially let me to think this had been infected by some nasty critter or other. Thank goodness I was wrong. A relatively soft texture, but there's still some potential for this to unwind some more. Decent amount of soft and sweet red fruit as well.
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1/16/2015 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
From magnum, and so much more than the '74 in 750 ml. Here harmony on the palate, less tobacco on the nose, and rich on the palate. Of course, from magnum, so I would guess the 750 ml should be drunk up now.
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12/19/2014 - rcrisa wrote: 95 Points
Unbelievably wonderful. Spices, leather, iodine and many other things. Beautiful. Sublime.
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10/8/2014 - AtoZ wrote: 92 Points
Soft feminine and drinking great. Works with fish. Cracks up after several hours.
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9/8/2014 - rh53w Likes this wine: 91 Points
Heavy bricking. Spiced figs, mint, blackberries, honey, luden's cough drop and leather on a surprisingly lovely nose. Cherry, plum, blackberry, mint on the palate. Sara tasted liquorice, and I got it faintly though she noticed it more. Fairly fine but active tannins on the back end. Very good length, or at least an extreme upside surprise given some recent(ish) disappointments with older Piemontese wines. A really nice surprise.
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3/25/2014 - Matthew B Likes this wine: 91 Points
Cork shattered, ran through cheesecloth. Appearance was slight bricking at rim, murky (most likely because of decanting). The nose was good from the beginning with floral notes, cherries, tea and spice. Burgundian. Medium+ acidity...tannins were smooth but certainly present. A bit of tar and rose on the taste with a nice lengthy finish.
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11/19/2013 - KeithAkers wrote: 91 Points
Rotating Dinner Series-Wines Jimmy Likes (Acadia, Chicago IL): Nose: At first the nose seemed a bit flawed as there was some VA to it, but it blew off with air and revealed red fruits, rose hips, dried cherries, roasted herbs, and a touch of florals.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium/high acidity and sneaky tannins. The feel is very silky and lithe with red fruits, tar, dried red cherries, spices, and bits of rose hips.
Overall: Once this opened up it was a lovely mature Barbaresco. This showed the perfume and poise that you want from a wine of this age along with being a pleasure to drink.
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11/17/2013 - Ali wrote: 90 Points
fullly resolved and drinking well. Lots of tar and asphalt, not much fruit left.
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9/22/2011 - presterjohn Likes this wine:
Rich old flavours, figs and chocolate and spice, good acidity, quite vibrant, delicious. Still vigorous but probably won't get much better.
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4/2/2008 - Serge Birbrair wrote:
Young and still full of life. Rose petals, leather saddle on the nose, the core is stern, sturdy enough for another 10-20 years. Let thius baby sleep some more.
Winemaker responsible for this wine (on the right)
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1/10/2008 - Serge Birbrair wrote: 93 Points
This wine is still a baby. No decanting, no bricking, rose petals and forest floor.
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