Produttori del Barbaresco Riserva "Don Fiorino" DOCG 2016
(Piedmont, Italy) - [WE 99] [JD 98] [JS 98] [KO 98] [WS 95] [WA 94]

About the Winery:
Produttori del Barbaresco exclusively vinifies Nebbiolo grapes from the vineyards owned by the 50 member-growers in within the Barbaresco DOCG appellation.

In any given vintage a Barbaresco and a Nebbiolo Langhe are produced. The former, first released in the 1958 vintage, is made by assembling grapes from different fully grown vineyards. This is the flagship wine of the winery, known all over the world for the solid quality and great value that it represents. The latter, first released in 1975, is made with a selection of grapes from younger vineyards in within the region. It is suited for earlier consumption and it is a great way to introduce one’s palate to the beauty of the Nebbiolo grape and the Barbaresco terroir.

In great vintages only, nine single vineyards are produced and released after four years under the Riserva (Reserve) program. These wines are produced from a selection of grapes sourced from nine historical premium sites within the Barbaresco village boundaries. Historical vineyards, known for centuries for producing high quality grapes and now worldwide famous also thanks to the Produttori del Barbaresco legacy. Their names are Asili, Montefico, Montestefano, Muncagota, Ovello, Pajè, Pora, Rabajà, Rio Sordo.

First released in 1967, they are vinified and aged with exactly the same style in order to show their different personalities at their best and purest form. A tasting of the nine "Produttori Crus" is therefore an unique experience, just like a walk through the hills of Barbaresco can be!

About the Wine

This Barbaresco Riserva is dedicated to Don Fiorino, the priest that in 1958 inspired and organized the 19 growers that founded the Produttori del Barbaresco winery in the center of the village, next to the main church, where the winery still stands today.

It is a tribute to the old days when the best Barbaresco wines were traditionally made by blending grapes from great vineyards instead of keeping them separate as single - vineyards.

Grape variety: 100% Nebbiolo

Vineyards: a blend of grapes form historical vineyards in Barbaresco

Soil: calcareous limestone with sandy veins

Vinification: fermentation at 30°C (85°F), skin contact time of 30 days, malolactic completed

Ageing: 30 months in large oak barrels

Bottling date: June 2020 

Total production: approx. 16,000 bottles

Vintage: full body vintage with intense mineral and dark, ripe fruit aromas, balanced tannic finish

Longevity: 25 – 30 years from the vintage  

Ratings & Reviews

99 Points, Cellar Selection - Wine Enthusiast:

"This is a must-have for any Nebbiolo lover, opening with aromas of reconstituted cherries bathed in sweet and savory spices and dried rosebuds. Supple tannins gently coat the palate, while the plush red fruit notes roll around with sweet tea and dried leaf notes on the sublime finish. Drink now in perpetuity." - Jeff Porter (April 2024)

98 Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
The 2016 Barbaresco Riserva will be available later this spring. It is introspective at the moment. Although it is concentrated with licorice, fresh black cherry, cedar, and black pepper. It is a more brooding wine but retains its style, with leather, red plum, and balsamic, and as it opens it shows more fresh apricot. It is going to be a wine to hold onto and or drink over the coming two to three decades.

98 Points - James Suckling:
Incredible aromas of white truffle, meat, wet earth, lightly burnt orange peel and pure fruit. Medium-bodied and very compact, with a block of silky tannins that run through the palate and then come out at the end with a gorgeous texture. It’s very drinkable now, but will age wonderfully. This is a special release. They never made a serious blended riserva in their history.

98 Points - Kerin O'Keefe:
A new edition to the winery’s already impressive lineup, the gorgeous Produttori del Barbaresco 2016 Don Fiorino Riserva stuns with its impeccable class, structure and youthful tension. Made with 50% grapes from the Produttori’s nine famous crus and 50% from other top sites (Basarin, Cottà, Cole, Fasèt and San Cristoforo), it boasts aromas and flavors of ripe raspberry, star anise, cake spice and almost salty mineral notes. An ode to the the parish priest who united 19 growers in 1958 and created the Produttori del Barbaresco cooperative, it’s linear, precise and still youthfully austere. Aged for thirty months in 15hl French casks, it’s extremely well balanced, with firm, refined tannins and fresh acidity.

95 Points - Wine Spectator:
"Rich, broad and spicy, exhibiting plum, cherry, tar, licorice and eucalyptus aromas and flavors. Offers muscle and grace, with intensity and persistence on the long finish. To be released April 2023. Best from 2024 through 2040." – BS (Apr 2023)

94 Points - Wine Advocate:
"Dedicated to the town priest who first grouped 19 growers into a cooperative winery, this is an exciting new wine from Produttori del Barbaresco. From a winery literally located under the shadow of the Barbaresco church tower, the 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Don Fiorino reveals aged tones of dried fruit, earth and licorice. This dynamic co-op winery is best known for the agreeability of its Nebbiolo-based wines, although I feel this wine is a little too far along in terms of its evolution. There is cola, aniseed and dusty licorice root. The wine is drinking beautifully right now and should hold, although I might choose to err on the side of drinking it early, given the quickening pace of its bottle evolution. The winery aging regime see three years in oak casks and three years in bottle. It is a blend of most of the nine cru sites represented by this co-op winery. This new wine represents a production of 16,000 bottles." – Monica Larner (Aug 2023)