2003 Barbaresco

I have been hearing rave reviews about this small producer for some time so I was happy to finally have a chance to stop by the winery and spend some time with proprietor Renato Vacca. Humble, down-to-earth, yet intensely driven, Vacca is making some of the most exciting wines in the region. Prior to 1997 Vacca sold his fruit to the Produttori del Barbaresco cooperative run by his cousin Aldo Vacca but that year he started making wines on his own, a choice that seems to be paying off. Vacca's holdings are concentrated in and around the Ovello vineyard, a site long noted for its combination of cooler microclimate and poor soils which give structured, age-worthy Barbarescos. The vines are also quite old here, averaging 50+ years of age, and there can be little question that the older vines contributed significantly to the high level of Vacca's 2003 Barbarescos. Not only were the wines from Cantina del Pino were among the standouts in my tastings, they also happen to be among the very best values in Barbaresco. In short, I can't say enough good things about the wines of Renato Vacca. Readers owe to themselves to check out this up-and-coming producer.