TN: 2006 Produttori Barbaresco Normale

Translucent red in the glass, with a nose of crystalized cherry fruit - very pretty, if still primary. Sweet red fruits on the palate, firmed up by some serious acidity, with a finish featuring some tannic bite. You can feel this on your enamel. Nice, if still on the young side for true drinking pleasure.

Thanks for the note. I’ve become a fan of nebbiolo based wines recently, and Produttori puts out some good value wines.

i thought this was quite good when i tasted it in italy back in march…considering there will be no crus for 2006, it should be quite a good value

How would you compare it to other recent vintages, Bob?

As usual,Bob,we agree on our Produttori.This is the firmest,most primary normale at this stage of development that I can remember…but I like it’s character and think it will be a keeper,especially given that the juice from the crus will be rolled in.

John, I like it better than the '05, which I find more open-knit. And it blows away the '03. But I don’t know that I would place it any higher/better than the '04. Still, given the price, I think it’s definitely a wine that will merit purchasing by the case, and I can easily see this having the wherewithal to pay back cellaring over the next 15+ years.

Wild Bill, what’s your avatar? Monaco?

Cinque Terre?

One of the best Nebbiolo values out there, year in and year out. Together with the Vietti Perbaco, which is usually more expensive, this one is a regular purchase for me – maybe even 6 bottles worth!!!

A sleepy little village with great pesto called…Vernazza.
Ken’s got it.
He knows.
He remembers.

Looks awesome, Bill!

And wowzers, did Steve just say this might be a 6 bottle purchase? I better go get another case then!

There’s some nice wine made from grapes grown on those steep slopes that never makes it over here.You gotta go there and drink it with pesto and the local catch of the day ravioli…
It’s a momentous occasion when da Professah buys more than 3.

What did you pay for the 06,Bad Bob?

Yeah. A departure from my usual restrained approach to wine buying.

Having seen it from just that view, it wasn’t hard to recall; especially after having walked from Monterosso. I think I spotted a nice cafe from up there! [cheers.gif]

Exactly.That is Vernazza seen from the path to Monterosso al Mare.Last time I was walking to Monterosso,it was in the early Sunday afternoon and we came to a stopping point on the path with 3 severely inebriated octogenarians bounding down the steep slope like mountain goats at a 45 degree angle…smiling and laughing like satyrs,celebrating the divine.
Great moment!

Bill, it was $24+tax.

That’s a very good price.

I believe I paid the same.
I think we continue to buy from the same people.

I just got an email about this wine from Chambers Street that confuses me:

So – the Produttori, again - the combination of quality and value means that we just can’t stop from drinking and talking about these wines. The news, if you haven’t heard it: for the 2006 vintage the Produttori have decided not to bottle any of their single-vineyard Barbaresco Riservas. Aldo Vacca, manager of the Produttori, describes this as a business decision that was not based on the very high quality of the wines, but instead because there have been so many strong vintages in a row (basically 2004-2009) that they were concerned that there would be too much wine on the market. The wines were vinified and aged separately as per their normal practice; > following an initial release of the 2006 Barbaresco (which was a terrific bottle at the time), all of the Riservas have now been blended together to produce just one wine. > It’s an outstanding Barbaresco that would have made history in the days before single-vineyard wines, and it has all of the complexity one would expect in an old-fashioned multi-vineyard blend. The richness and dry extract in good 2006s make this drinkable now, but we’re going to stash some in the cellar for future reference. At $30 a bottle this is a crazy buy.

I knew the story about the single vineyards not being released, and instead blended into the regular Barbaresco bottling, but this email makes it sound like there was an earlier bottling of the regular Barbaresco, and now a new bottling of that wine. It seemed unlikely when I first read it, but if the single vineyards were aged separately (and longer) before being blended in, then it probably is true. So I wonder which bottling I got when I bought a case last month? [scratch.gif]