1990 Barbaresco

The 2011 Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo is a bit darker and more ample than it usually is, a signature of the year. With time in the glass, the typical soaring floral/spiced Rio Sordo bouquet emerges. Dark, sensual and beautifully expressive, the Rio Sordo is another wine that will drink well with minimal cellaring. (AG)

The 1990 Barbaresco Torre reveals a dark ruby color with some lightening at the edge. This ripe wine exhibits the vintage's more noteworthy maturity, as it sings with ripe, sweet, intensely jammy, cherry, gamey aromas intermingled with spice and fruitcake-like scents. Perfumed and luscious on the palate, with dry tannin in the finish, this medium to full-bodied, concentrated, excellent Barbaresco can be drunk now as well as over the next 10-12 years. Given the stratospheric prices of high quality Barbaresco and Barolo, this wine is a very good value.

Produttori's 1990s perform along similar lines to the 1989s, although they are higher in alcohol with a more noticeable element of over-ripeness in their thick, jammy, sweet, corpulent style. The 1990s are full-bodied and concentrated, with excellent structure to go along with the massive size. At $15, the 1990 regular Barbaresco is a great introduction to the big, rich, chewy, classic style of the Produttori del Barbaresco's wines. 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. I have been an enthusiastic admirer, buyer, and drinker of this coop's wines since the 1978 vintage. Given the superb quality of the 1989s and 1990s, these wines represent the finest values from these two great Piedmontese vintages. The cooperative is quick to declassify any Barbaresco to a generic Nebbiolo if it is not of an acceptably high quality level. They harvest and vinify separately as many as ten vineyards, of which I tasted seven in 1989 and four single vineyard cuvees in 1990. Most Italian wine experts consider the Rabaja and Asili to be their two best bottlings. As my notes and scores attest, that is akin to splitting hairs at this high level of quality. 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! Importer: Vias Imports, Great Neck, NY.