Vino Vino Situation: The brother of Barolo, by Produttori Del Barbaresco

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You’ve probably heard about the great Barolo, made with Nebbiolo grapes. Using the same grapes, Produttori del Barbaresco makes another excellent red wine called, you guessed it, Barbaresco.

What’s the difference? Barolo and Barbaresco are two distinct areas in Piemonte (more specifically on the Langhe hills), very close to each other (only 20 km!), and they give the name to these two wines. Despite being so close, Barolo and Barbaresco have different qualities. Barbaresco is less austere and more elegant than Barolo. Some people say that Barolo is the male and Barbaresco is the female. Furthermore, Barolo requires three years of barreling in oak, while Barbaresco only needs two years.

Produttori del Barbaresco was founded in 1958 and is a cooperative winery with 50 members and 110 hectares. They cultivate only Nebbiolo grapes, and with that they produce different types of wine: a basic Nebbiolo (just six months in oak), a basic Barbaresco (two years in oak), and many other types of “Riserva”, depending on the specific vineyard (and additional months in oak).

Every year a wine is different, and this is even more true with Barbaresco. In general, this wine has a not-too-much-intense garnet red color with a fruity and floral bouquet with spicy notes: liquorice, black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg… It’s also tannic and persistent, but not as much as Barolo.

I think you can just drink a glass of Barbaresco without anything to eat, on a cold winter night with a good book to read! In Piemonte they usually drink Barbaresco with game meat, or their wonderful hard cheeses, or with Alba’s truffles!

According to the experts, the best vintages for Barbaresco are 1995-1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2012. For me, however, what’s really important is the work of the winery itself, and Produttori del Barbaresco is always a guarantee!

Enjoy your wine!

Producer: Produttori del Barbaresco
Name: Barbaresco DOCG
Region: Piemonte
Type: Still red wine
Price: About $35
Grapes: Nebbiolo 100%

Working in wineries across Italy, I get to see how much passion goes into each bottle. With the Vino Vino Situation, every week I present a great Italian wine that won’t break your budget. Salute!