Wine Spectator (95)

A rich, cherry- and floral-scented red, effusive in aroma, with the core of cherry prevailing on the palate. Though fleshy, this gives way to firm tannins that line the lingering aftertaste. Inviting and full of energy, so decant now or wait.

Wine Advocate (94)

Following the suggestion of Produttori del Barbaresco General Manager Renato Vacca, I am starting off this series of nine Riservas with the 2015 Barbaresco Riserva Pora. This wine is usually the most delicate, slender and ephemeral of this set. However, I can immediately confirm that this is not necessarily the case with this exuberant 2015 vintage. The sunny heat of the growing season has successfully drawn out more fruit weight and intensity in this edition of Pora. The wine overdelivers in terms of aromas, but its streamlined and polished personality follows through to the palate. Those divergent intensity levels will smooth out with more bottle age. Some 16,666 bottles were released.

Vinous (98)

The 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà is brooding in its intensity. Swaths of tannin, acid and mineral notes infuse the 2016 with striking gravitas. A wine of staggering proportion and breathtaking beauty, the Rabajà is the sort of wine I wish every Vinous reader could taste because it captures the essence of place and vintage with so much pedigree and so much class. Black cherry, sage, crushed rocks, menthol and lavender are some of the many nuances that linger on the eternal finish.

Wine Advocate (96)

The Rio Sordo cru is known for medium-bodied wines that show elegance and finesse. The 2011 Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo is my favorite wine among this set of new Riserva releases. This gorgeous wine is seamless in approach with balanced aromatic intensity that bridges dark fruit aromas against ethereal notes of cola, tar and licorice. There is an irresistible dash of white truffle buried deep within. The wine is powerful and firmly constructed, but the quality of the tannins is silky and polished.

Wine Advocate (96+)

This wine usually falls somewhere in the middle of the Riserva continuum (starting with the most lithe and elegant wine and ending with the most powerful) presented by Produttori del Barbaresco in this knockout series of nine single-vineyard expressions. The 2015 Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo is another personal favorite. This group of Ovello, Rio Sordo, Asili and Rabajà (that sweet spot of neighboring vineyard sites in Barbaresco) is especially profound in 2015, striking a careful balance between elegance against power. The Rio Sordo offers tight and sharp fruit complete with a little tannic pinch or crunch on the close. Production is 13,333 bottles.

Vinous (94)

The 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo is a serious, somber wine. Black cherry, plum, lavender, spice and menthol show off the darker side of Nebbiolo to great effect. In most vintages, Rio Sordo is an easygoing wine, but not in 2016. Readers will find a potent, brooding yet mid-weight Barbaresco that screams with character. What a way to start this tasting!

Kerin O'Keefe (100)

The drop-dead gorgeous Barbaresco 2019 Asili Riserva from the Produttori del Barbaresco stuns with its extreme finesse and heady scents of wild rose, red berry, camphor, leather and brown spice. Full-bodied and vibrant, the elegant, linear palate delivers red cherry, blood orange, star anise and ground clove alongside youthfully tight but extremely refined tannins. Bright acidity keeps it impeccably balanced and energized, lending great tension. It’s a superb expression of this celebrated site and the fantastic vintage. An absolute stunner.

Greg Sherwood MW (93)

Produttori del Barbaresco makes its Langhe Nebbiolo with declassified Barbaresco fruit (often from parcels on lower slopes) so production volumes are notably reduced in the better vintages when more of the prime fruit finds its way into the delicious village Barbaresco DOCG or indeed one of the classy nine Cru Riservas. This young Nebbiolo is utterly seductive with intricate perfume that wafts out the glass in waves of wild strawberry, red cherry, violets and pink blossom and an underlying hint of garrigue, vermouth botanicals, blood orange and dry roasted nuts. Very classy and quite individual with exceptional quality year in, year out, the 2019 palate is sleek, silky and wonderfully fresh with a mouth watering acidity, youthful chalky tannins and a real melange of cranberry, red cherry, vermouth bitters and subtle liquorice nuances on the finish. Fabulously elegant and energetic, this vintage is ripe and characterful with impressive fruit concentration but also a supple, elegant texture. Another cracking vintage that should drink well over 6 to 8+ years.

Greg Sherwood MW (92+)

Produttori del Barbaresco makes its Langhe Nebbiolo with declassified Barbaresco fruit (often from parcels on lower slopes) so production volumes are notably reduced in the better vintages when more of the prime fruit finds its way into their delicious village Barbaresco DOCG or indeed one of the classy nine Cru Riservas. This young 2020 Nebbiolo certainly shows great promise with an immediately attractive array of aromatics that boast dark cherry, damson plum, sweet herbs, blood orange and a slight menthol top note. Always wonderfully intense and potent, the palate displays a medium bodied weight of red and black berry fruits, macerated strawberries and sweet cherries with an underlying cool, suave elegance and a fresh acid vitality. The finish is creamy and plush with soft plump tannins, subtle piquant black liquorice notes and a pure, weightless length. Delightfully streamlined and accessible, this 2020 continues a fine run of vintages for Produttori del Barbaresco. Drink from release and over 5 to 8 years.

Greg Sherwood MW (93+)

An impressively substantial wine yet again from Aldo Vacca and this world famous red wine Co-operative. The wine has a real presence showing complex aromatic layers of wild herbs, dried blood orange, botanicals, vermouth spices over pink musk, red cherry and candied red berry fruits. The palate is sumptuously muscular, plump and fleshy, but beautifully mellow and harmonious with a massive red and black berry fruit concentration, spicy herby tannins and an incredibly bold, vibrant acidity that once again underpins the fabulous depth of fruit and fleshy opulence. This is the real deal, a substantial Nebbiolo that simply sings in the glass. Bravo Aldo! I don’t know how you do it, year in and year out, but the Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo 2021 is an absolute winner. Drink on release and over 10 to 12 plus years.

The collection case contains of one bottle each of:

1. 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Pora

2. 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Pajè

3. 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello

4. 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo

5. 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Asili

6. 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà

7. 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Muncagota

8. 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Montefico

9. 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano

The case contains one bottle of each:

Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Asili 2019 - 94 Vinous
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Montefico 2019 - 93+ Vinous
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano 2019 – 95 Vinous
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Muncagota 2019 – 93+ Vinous
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Ovello 2019 – 94 Vinous
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Pajè 2019 – 93 Vinous
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Pora 2019 – 92 Vinous
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà 2019 – 94 Vinous
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo 2019 – 93 Vinous

Produttori del Carema Riserva 2016 is a world-class red wine, originating from Carema, a small region in Piedmont, Italy. The wine's complexity and elegance are credited to the Neive soil, famous for its mineral content that adds to the wine's unique character. Typifying the workmanship of Produttori del Carema, a cooperative renowned for its consistent high-quality wine production, its Riserva edition 2016 reveals the exceptional vintage.

Produced from 100% Nebbiolo grapes, it delivers an elegant bouquet of roses, tar, and ripe red fruits. The taste, while full and harmonious, hints at vanilla, leather and spices. Aged for 36 months in Slavonian oak barrels, this adds to the wine’s deep complexity. Using traditional winemaking techniques, the hand-harvested grapes are fermented in stainless steel tanks, preserving the wine's authenticity.

Produttori del Carema Riserva 2016 offers a distinctive, mature and pleasant palate experience, proving itself a deserving addition to any connoisseur's collection.

Wine Enthusiast (95)

Woodland berry, rose, camphor and a whiff of tobacco shape the fragrant nose. It's focused and elegantly structured, presenting juicy Marasca cherry, orange zest, licorice and clove set against bright acidity and taut, refined tannins.

Vinous (93)

The 2019 Batàr, 50% Chardonnay/50% Pinot Blanc, offers up an exotic mélange of tangerine peel, pineapple, spice and passionfruit. The move towards a more refined style here has paid off big-time.

Vinous (98)

The 2015 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva is classic Quintarelli to the core, with a vibrant cascade of exotic spices, dried flowers, citrus peels and fresh crushed cherries forming its seductive bouquet. Juicy in feel yet deep and complex, it sweeps across the palate with ripe wildberry fruits elevated by a whiplash of electric acidity as violet inner florals arc across the senses. Long and staining but also impossibly fresh, the 2015 leaves a web of fine-grained tannins as hints of plum skin and licorice slowly fade. This is a rockstar.

Vinous (98)

Time has only been a friend to the 2004 Recioto della Valpolicella Classico. Soaring and vivid in its beauty, the 2004 is simply stunning today. Bittersweet chocolate, cloves, menthol, leather and sweet dark cherry are front and center, but it is the wine's poise and overall nuance that truly elevate it into the stratosphere of wine elixirs. Don't make the same mistake I have made in the past. Avoid the half bottles. The 2004 is a wine to buy in the 750s. This is as good as Recioto gets.

Wine Advocate (93)

The 2016 Chianti Classico impresses for the heightened level of vibrant freshness and aromatic precision that distinguishes it in a large playing field. Proprietor Maurizia di Napoli tells me that the 2016 growing season was not without its ups and downs. Farming was difficult, and not all sites came to ripeness with the same consistency because it was cooler toward the end of the growing season. Castello dei Rampolla avoids the use of sulfites in winemaking. However, these results are stunning, especially as this is positioned as a more affordable wine. The blend is 85% Sangiovese, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Merlot.

James Suckling (93)

A classic Chianti Classico with plums, strawberries and peaches on the nose and palate. Medium-bodied with very fine tannins and a long, linear finish with brightness and focus. Juicy finish. Drinkable now, but even better in a year or two.

Vinous (96)

Rich, heady and exotic in its beauty, Corino's 2016 Barolo Rocche dell'Annunziata is a total stunner. In the glass, the 2016 Rocche is seamless and silky, with striking textural richness and persistence. Super-ripe red cherry, red plum, rose petal, mint and kirsch infuse the 2016 with layers of nuance. All the elements meld together in a rich, sumptuous Barolo that captures the essence of this great La Morra cru.

Vinous (93)

The 2018 Barolo Rocche dell'Annunziata is a very pretty and elegant wine. In 2018, there is maybe just a bit more nervousness and tannic spine than most years. Floral and spice accents lift the bright red/purplish fruit. At times relatively open and forward, while in other moments more restrained, the 2018 is full of complexity. This is nicely done.