Produttori del Barbaresco at Søllerød Kro

On Thursday November 10, 2011 the Danish importer of Produttori del Barbaresco had organized a winemaker’s dinner with Aldo Vacca from Produttori del Barbaresco at famed Danish restaurant Søllerød Kro.

I’m a big fan of the wines from Produttori del Barbaresco and Søllerød Kro is the best restaurant I have ever been to, so this seemed like the perfect dinner for me. Unfortunately on this night the cooking of Søllerød Kro was very far from their normal standard – for sure because of the budget, but still a shame. Fortunately the wines of Produttori were shining and so was Aldo Vacca.



Aldo Vacca Presenting Barbaresco 90



The first two wines served were 2007 Barbaresco along with 1997 Barbaresco. At first the 2007 seemed alcoholic and warm, but after some time in the glass it settled down and regained its balance. A very pleasant and easy drinking wine, which IMO was suffering somewhat from the heat of the vintage. The 1997 was what I would characterize as more or less fully mature. It was beautifully balanced and did not fall apart in the glass, but I didn’t see any upside in holding this any longer in the cellar. The wines were paired with some panfried white fish with a touch of salt and lemon and especially the 97 did well with the food.

Next up was the first “real” flight of the evening. The theme of the evening was the 97 Riservas, and we were served 97 Asili Riserva, 97 Rabajà Riserva and 97 Montestefano Riserva. The Asili stole the show immediately. It was head and shoulders above the two others. Unfortunately the Rabajà was off, but it was quickly replaced by another bottle. The Montestefano did surprisingly well, and whereas the Asili didn’t really evolve in the glass, the Montestefano kept getting better and better and at the end I actually preferred it to the Asili. Asili was all about elegance and balance, whereas Montestefano was more masculine in the style. Rabajà wasn’t really showing well. Yes, the second bottle was better than the first, but it seemed one dimensional and slightly over mature. I left mine to breathe in the glass for the remainder of the evening.

The third flight of the evening was 97 Rio Sordo Riserva and 97 Ovello Riserva. The Rio Sordo reminded me a bit of the Montestefano and the Ovello seemed so young still and slightly out of balance. Especially the Ovello needed a lot of time in the glass before it started showing well. But at the end it was showing very well. The Rio Sordo was showing very well. It was the first time I tried this bottling (in any vintage) and it showed that I probably should start buying other crus than Rabajà, Asili and Ovello…

The fourth flight was also the last of the 97 Riservas. It was 97 Pajé Riserva and 97 Moccagatta Riserva. I had high expectations for the Pajé, but they were not entirely met, as it didn’t seem to reach the same level as some of the others. The Moccagatta showed well but not the level of complexity as the previous flights.

Glasses Full of Nebbiolo

Before heading to the last flight of the evening I re-tasted all of the wines, as I had left something from all the 97 Riservas. The Asili had not changed one bit – it was beautiful. But there were two that had evolved positively. Ovello Riserva had found a better equilibrium and was showing really well, but much to my surprise one wine stood out above all others: Rabajà Riserva was fantastic. It no longer seemed over evolved – it had tightened up and the fruit, acidity and structure were now balancing each other perfectly. It was much more structured than the other crus even more than Montestefano. It was really fascinating to witness such a big change for this wine that I had the highest expectations to prior to the tasting.

Barbaresco 90 - notice the anniversary label

As a general comment to the 97s, they were still very much alive, but it was also clear that one shouldn’t expect improvements from these wines. I found them to be relatively close to peak, but I’m sure that they will remain at this level for quite a few years more. Most of them were relatively easy drinking and very elegant and feminine in style. Not big brooding tannin monsters but silky elegant wines.

Well despite the loveliness of the 97s the last flight stole the show completely. We were served a 1990 Barbaresco from magnum and 1989 Barbaresco from double magnum. The 90 was dark and concentrated with a beautiful nose full of dark fruit and menthol. In the mouth it was also beautiful – very well balanced, with dark fruit and very silky round tannins. The 89 was more muted on the nose to begin with but in the mouth it was far superior to the 90. Much more structured and tannic and the color was also much more red compared to the darkness of the 90. I wish I had a double mag of the 89 myself, because it was really special.

Back label of Barbaresco 90

While we were eating and drinking Aldo Vacca spoke about the wines and came around to all the tables talking to us. He did a fantastic job, speaking in perfect English with great knowledge and a great sense of humor. Bravo. So what did I learn from the tasting? Well, the 97s were beautiful and elegant without much upside to it, but it also showed that the less known crus, like Montestefano and Rio Sordo, really delivered well. Finally the tasting also showed how important the size of the bottles can be, as both wines served from larger formats were fantastic depite being 7-8 years older.

1st Star of the evening