Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco Torre (2017)

The 2017 Barbaresco, sourced from 100 hectares and 54 growers, was aged for 24 months in large oak casks. It offers layers of aromatics woven together with tar, forested earth, dried cherry, and sweet tobacco. The palate is ripe and pure, with raspberry leather, tea leaf, and blood orange. It is mouth-filling, with fruit that is long and persistent, fine tannins, and a lifted finish. Finessed and elegant, the 2017 is drinking beautifully now and will continue to drink well over the next 15 years. 2021-2036.

The 2017 Barbaresco shows just how appealing this vintage can be. In 2017, the warm, dry growing season gave the Barbaresco an extra kick of richness that fills out its frame and adds so much immediacy. Sweet red berry fruit, cinnamon, rose petal and mint are open in the glass, but it is the wine’s seductive radiance that wins the day. Pora, Ovello, Montestefano, Muncagota and Rio Sordo are the main vineyards used for the straight Barbaresco. The 2017 is such an inviting and expressive wine. Don’t miss it!

The Produttori del Barbaresco lost about 20 percent of their crop in the 2017 growing season due to frost and hail in the spring and a long drought in the summer, but what remained gave a fresh and exuberant wine packed with flavors of vibrant red cherry and zesty notes of orange peel. The Produttori typically offer one of the best quality-price ratios for Barbaresco, and the exciting 2017 version is no exception.

A beam of cherry introduces this lithe red, shaded by tar, eucalyptus, white pepper and earth notes. This is dense, with the tannins leaving a firm impression on the finish. Best from 2024 through 2037.

Underbrush, powdered mint and balsamic notes of camphor segue over to the full-bodied palate along with dried cherry, star anise and toasted hazelnut. Taut, fine-grained tannins provide support. This shows the heat of the vintage so drink sooner rather than later to capture the remaining fruit and freshness.