Produttori del Barbaresco - Barbaresco Montefico Riserva 2017 (750ml)
Price: $99.00
| Producer | Produttori del Barbaresco |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Piedmont |
| Varietal | Nebbiolo |
| Vintage | 2017 |
| Sku | 1557293 |
| Size | 750ml |
Wine Advocate: 95 Points
The Produttori del Barbaresco 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Montefico is especially broad and thick in texture. It feels generous to the senses wrapping thickly over the palate with a pretty mix of firm tannins and soft fruit fiber. These elements help to increase both the volume and the persistence of this classic wine. There is some dryness on the finish (and 15% alcohol) and you also taste crushed mineral and stone. Production is 10000 bottles. I give this wine an edge in terms of future aging potential. Produttori del Barbaresco has been hitting it out of the ballpark these past years with a string of excellent vintages that resulted in the production of their entire line of Riservas. However that good momentum comes to an end because the Riservas were not made in 2018. That vintage saw all the fruit blended into one non-MGA Barbaresco. And with the 2017 Riservas reviewed here you might find these bottles hard to find. Production was 30% lower in this growing season because of a very careful fruit selection process. In fact Aldo Vacca calls 2017 a "roller coaster vintage with frost then hail then a summer drought."
Vinous: 95 Points
The 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Montefico is one of the stand-outs in this range. It shows the piercing tannins typical of this site and yet has more than enough fruit to balance those tannins certainly moreso than wines like the Rabajà. This exposed site benefits from cooling winds from the north clearly a benefit in 2017. Even in the early going the balance here is terrific. In 2017 the Montefico is one of the clear stand outs in the range. - By Antonio Galloni on September 2021 Aldo Vacca and his team at the Produttori del Barbaresco cooperative continue to turn out gorgeous wines that deliver a remarkable combination of quality and value. This year's releases include the 2017 Riservas and the 2018 Barbaresco. "Frost and drought were challenges in 2017 but not excessively so" Vacca told me. "It was an early harvest but conditions at the end of the season were quite favorable. We were more worried about drought than heat. In the end we found the requisites to make our Riservas but production for all the wines is lower than normal. Two thousand eighteen is another story. Disease pressure was high throughout the year. There were some diurnal shifts at the end of the season then a week where temperatures warmed before cooling again. The wines lacked color and depth relative to stronger vintages." In tasting the 2017 Riservas are certainly very good wines. As often happens in warm years the differences between vineyard sites are less marked than they are in cooler vintages like 2014 and 2016. The tannins are also less polished. Time will help to some degree but the wines will always show the personality of the vintage. Time on the skins was four weeks (as opposed to five for the 2016s) with submerged cap maceration at the end. Aging was done entirely in cask.
vWine Spectator: 94 Points
Marked by plum and menthol this also has elements of iron tar and tobacco. Muscular and brooding with a strong grip of tannins on the finish. Best from 2026 through 2043. ?B.S.
Wine Enthusiast: 94 Points
Cedar truffle scorched earth and a whiff of blue violet form the nose along with ripe berry. Full-bodied and structured the palate offers raspberry jam black cherry cake spice and star anise alongside taut tannins. Drink through 2029. KERIN O?KEEFE
