2018 Produttori Del Barbaresco Barbaresco DOCG

The Produttori del Barbaresco is unquestionably a terrific source for Barbarescos that rival the best made in Piedmont. Although there is a tendency to scoff at wines made by cooperatives, the quality of the wines from this superbly run operation is as high as that from any highly committed, passionate estate-bottler… The Produttori del Barbaresco gets my vote as the best run and most committed cooperative regarding quality, and, most importantly for prospective purchasers, a source for exceptional Barbaresco wine values! ROBERT PARKER

Produttori del Barbaresco is not only one of Italy’s most admired co-ops, but one of the very best producers of Barbaresco. This reputation has been earned by the constant high quality of its output… WALTER SPELLER, JancisRobinson.com

In tasting, the 2018 Barbarescos are medium-bodied, gracious wines. The best examples are beautifully balanced, with lovely aromatic presence, pure fruit…ANTONIO GALLONI, Vinous.com

Monica Larner has called them one of Italy’s “ultimate value for money” and Robert Parker has said they are a “terrific source for Barbarescos that rival the best made in Piedmont”, while Antonio Galloni “can’t think of too many wines that deliver this much pleasure and value”. The unilateral praise for this storied estate sits in stark contrast to its humble beginnings where a local priest brought together 9 growers as a co-operative to sell a single wine. But today the fortunes of the region have risen dramatically alongside those of the Produttori del Barbaresco co-operative, whose number has now swelled to 58, and under the stewardship of the indomitable Aldo Vacca the wines have never looked better.

So how has a co-operative, which to be fair is sometimes a dirty word in fine wine, managed to rise to such heights. Well, the key point for me here is that under Vacca’s guiding hand, the cooperative pays its members according to the quality of the fruit, rather than just the quantity. This has provided a real, tangible incentive for these farmers to focus on growing pristine fruit, which has seen the quality of Produttori del Barbaresco’s wines climb higher and higher each vintage. It’s a simple, yet ingenious, model which sets them far apart from their peers and continues to deliver us brilliant wines.

Today, their single cru Barbaresco are as hotly collected as top Baroli, but in years when those wines aren’t made, as in 2018, their flagship Barbaresco benefits immensely as all that top-end fruit ends up in this humble bottling. It’s an injection that sees its quality rise significantly above it’s status in the line up. This is one of those insider tips that we love in the industry and love to share with our customers. Barbaresco looks to have fared better than Barolo in 2018 too, so this wine is now a firm ‘must buy’ from the vintage for me.