2020 Produttori Barbaresco Riserva Ovello

95 Points Parker's Wine Advocate
In stock
Ovello is the most northerly of all the cru vineyards in the village of Barbaresco. The soils of Ovello have a bit more clay which may account for the nice plump fruit that this vineyard often shows relatively early. It is generally one of the most forward of the nine crus made by the Produttori, and is a classic Barbaresco of ripe red and black cherry fruit at maturity, coupled with autumnal notes, scents of road tar, curry-like spice tones and often a distinctly floral topnote.
$99.00 in mixed 6+ or $109.00 per bottle

Grape

Nebbiolo

Its Origins

Ovello is a fairly large vineyard of 6.58 ha, and the Produttori controls a fairly significant percentage, making this one of the most widely seen single cru bottlings from the cooperative. The vineyard lies at an altitude of between 220 and 290 meters above sea level, with the vast majority of its vines facing west or southwest. Ovello is one of the oldest crus in the lineup from the Produttori, having first been produced in the 1970 vintage, which was the second vintage in which the cooperative made single cru bottlings (after the inaugural releases in the 1967 vintage). Like all of the cru bottlings from the Produttori, the Ovello is an extremely ageworthy wine that will usually drink better at age twenty than it will be at age ten, despite its often quite precocious and plump fruit component that makes the wine accessible much earlier than when it peaks. It took a sympathetic local priest to realise the only way for the community of Barbaresco to survive, in the poverty of the late 1950's, was for the winemakers to form a co-operative. The first 19 members made their wine in the church basement, but it didn't take long for this idea to provide them with solvency as well as solidarity. Quality too, as a more secure income allowed the individual growers to maintain the high standards they aspired to. Over decades the co-operative grew to it's current membership of 52, during which time it also developed an extensive and almost bewildering array of single vineyard offerings. Until recently the traditional labelling and less-than-dynamic global marketting strategy meant Produttori was strictly the preserve of experts. Nowadays however, as the world trawls Piedmont for both it's obvious and it's hidden gems, Produttori's delightfully backward labelling and proud obsession with qualtity are revealing it as one of the world's most profoundly undervalued wine treasures.

What The Critics Say

95/100 Parker's Wine Advocate, Monica Larner

"The Ovello vineyard has some northern exposures and generally represents a cooler growing site. You can expect intense fruit flavors and more prominent tannins as a result. The Produttori del Barbaresco 2020 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello fits the bill. Vine growth starts much later and usually lasts longer to produce dark intensity and bold aromas in the wines. In the cold years, the tannins can be aggressive, but in the hot years like 2020, they show better balance. This wine offers ferrous notes of iron and rusty nail followed by cherry-driven sweetness." Drink 2026 - 2050

95/100 Kerin O’Keefe

“Red berry, forest floor, new leather and spice shape the fragrant nose on the fantastic 2020 Ovello Riserva. Showing the structure derived from the cru’s predominately clayey soils, it has a backbone of firm but refined tannins that accompany juicy Marasca cherry, tangerine and spicy notes of star anise." Drink 2027 - 2032

95/100 Vinous, Antonio Gallon

“The 2020 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello is a massive, packed wine. Graphite, crushed rocks, dried herbs and cedar open first. Ovello tends to produce a more linear style of Barbaresco, and that is very much the case here as well. However, the 2020 also possesses notable depth and layers in the mid-palate. It’s a gorgeous wine in the making." Drink 2025 - 2035

Variety Nebbiolo
Region Piedmont
Closure Cork
Volume 750ml
Maturity 2025 - 2050

This Wine Goes Well With

with GAME
with PORK
with VENISON

Taste

4

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