Expert Review
Jancis Robinson 18 Points | Deep blackish ruby. Quite a complex, high-toned nose. Sweet and polished with treacle notes. Masses of fruit almost covers the tannins. Luscious. 2016 was excellent for both quality and quantity with great diurnal temperature variation, so they decided to make two...Show More >
Expert Review
Jancis Robinson 18 Points | Deep blackish ruby. Quite a complex, high-toned nose. Sweet and polished with treacle notes. Masses of fruit almost covers the tannins. Luscious. 2016 was excellent for both quality and quantity with great diurnal temperature variation, so they decided to make two extra tanks for a super-blend. (But not Asili because they don’t have too much of that cru.) 16,000 bottles were offered direct to importers. The blend spent three years in wood and three years in bottle so it was released only in 2023. The idea is to make Don Fiorino only when the vintage is perfect and they can also make all the single-vineyard wines. To be shipped to the UK in spring 2024. Named after the priest who restarted the co-op after its beginnings in the village co-op. Catholic co-ops were common then as priests could read and write! Don Fiorino had a brilliant mind and had the foresight to convince the local farmers to make only Barbaresco even though in the 1950s and 1960s it was not easy to sell. Drinking 2023 to 2040. - Jancis Robinson
Wine Advocate | Monica Lerner writes 96 Points | With exactly 16,090 bottles made, the Produttori del Barbaresco 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello is another stellar experience in this series of nine single-vineyard Riserva wines from Barbaresco's most successful wine cooperative. The Ovello is quite sharp and defined in terms of its aromas of wild cherry, dried violet and powdered licorice. Those mineral tones are very clear in this classic vintage. However, the Ovello finishes on a slightly softer note (compared to the Pajè) with a finer and more approachable tannin. The blended fruit for this cru is supplied by the Audasso, Cavallo, Cravanzola, Gonella, Grasso, Maffei, Odore, Sarotto, Unio, Vacca and Varaldo families. Drinking 2024 to 2048.
Vinous | Antonio Galloni writes 97 Points | The 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello is the most severe and angular of these wines. It will appeal most to die-hard classicists. Chalk, white pepper, mint and sweet red cherry fruit all grace this chiseled, beautifully translucent Barbaresco. As always, the Ovello needs a number of years in bottle to reveal its charms, which in 2016 are many. It is a positively stellar wine in every way. Drinking 2026 to 2041.
Wine Spectator | Bruce Sanderson writes 96 Points | Rich, broad and spicy, exhibiting plum, cherry, tar, licorice and eucalyptus aromas and flavors. Offers muscle and grace, with intensity and persistence on the long finish. To be released April 2023. Best from 2024 through 2040.
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