2009 Barbaresco Riserva Pora

Italy's top wine co-operative has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and the two new sets of wines I tasted in September were of consistently high quality.Yet it's the wines the Produttori will not be making that its neighbors in Barbaresco were talking about:the Produttori will not bottle its crus from vintage 2010."There were three rains in September and they kept everything wet," explained commercial director Aldo Vacca."The wines have good aromatics but lack extra density and thrust."No doubt other factors play a role in the Produttori's decision whether or not to bottle its crus.First off, it appears to be an all-or-nothing decision, as it is politically incorrect for the co-op to bottle some single-vineyard wines (Asili, Rabaya and Montestefano are routinely in highest demand) but not others.There is also the commercial consideration:the Produttori bottled its crus in 2007, 2008 and 2009, so releasing a full set of 2010s might have been too much for the market to absorb.Smart Barbaresco lovers, of course, will want to snap up the Produttori's 2010 Barbaresco normale.It was the 2009s and 2008s I focused on in September.Aldo Vacca described 2009 as a warm vintage with good spiciness and structure, even if the wines are less fruity than the 2008s.Production was down 25% from 2008 due to strict selection.The 2008s, he went on, are "powerful, rich and fruity wines, a bit like the 2011s.Their fruit is very sweet and they should offer a wide drinkability window."Vacca rates 2008 as his favorite vintage of the new century, but adds that 2005 is another "personal favorite."He told me that the 2008s are more drinkable today than he would have predicted early on, while the 2007s, which began with a more exotic quality, were becoming more classic--even austere--with a few years in bottle.In other words, the two vintages were moving in opposite directions.

Managing Director Aldo Vacca describes 2010 as a year that resembled the great vintages of the 1980s, with beautifully ripe fruit, but not quite enough density or consistency to merit bottling Riservas. According to Vacca, three days of rain in September were too much for some spots. Produttori fans know that by charter, the winery bottles all or none of the 9 Riserva, and according to Vacca the quality wasn't there to make all of the wines. Instead, the Produttori opted to skip the Riservas in 2010 in order to ensure higher quality for their straight Barbaresco, which is clearly the priority given the large production of that wine. Instead, the Produttori bottled Riservas in 2009, a warm vintage marked by heat towards the end of the season. Overall the 2009s have less aromatic expressiveness and explosiveness than the 2008s. The wines are nicely textured, and at times resemble the 2007s in their early approachability, although the 2009s have considerably less weight and sheer glycerin than the 2007s. Most importantly, though, the terrors are not especially marked. This is especially apparent in the lighter soils like Asili, Pora, Rio Sordo and Pajè, where the wines are less exciting than normal. The wines shine in some of the more compact soils, like Rabajà, Ovello and Montefico, where the vineyard qualities are much more apparent. Readers are best served on focusing on the best of the 2009s, and any remaining 2008s, as quality is a bit less consistently high than has become the norm here over the last few years.