Barbaresco Riserva, Produttori del Barbaresco 2016

Dedicated to the town priest who first grouped 19 growers into a cooperative winery, this is an exciting new wine from Produttori del Barbaresco. From a winery literally located under the shadow of the Barbaresco church tower, the 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Don Fiorino reveals aged tones of dried fruit, earth and licorice. This dynamic co-op winery is best known for the agreeability of its Nebbiolo-based wines, although I feel this wine is a little too far along in terms of its evolution. There is cola, aniseed and dusty licorice root. The wine is drinking beautifully right now and should hold, although I might choose to err on the side of drinking it early, given the quickening pace of its bottle evolution. The winery aging regime see three years in oak casks and three years in bottle. It is a blend of most of the nine cru sites represented by this co-op winery. This new wine represents a production of 16,000 bottles.