2004 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Pora

Bright medium red. Subdued aromas of strawberry, truffle and smoke. Soft, sweet and easygoing, but nicely shaped by ripe acidity. I find little of the greenness this wine can often show in the early going: Vacca attributes this to picking on the late side in 2004. Finishes fresh, with dusty tannins.

The 2004 Barbaresco Riserva Pora is a dense, chewy offering loaded with ripe red cherries, licorice, tar and sweet wild herbs. The wine's sheer concentration and power are impressive but the today the tannins seem to lack the extra level of elegance that characterizes the best wines in this vintage. Despite its slightly rustic personality, this medium to full-bodied Barbaresco delivers plenty of drinking pleasure in an intense style.

The 2004 Barbaresco Riserva Pora is a dense, chewy offering loaded with ripe red cherries, licorice, tar and sweet wild herbs. The wine’s sheer concentration and power are impressive but today the tannins seem to lack the extra level of elegance that characterizes the best wines in this vintage. Despite its slightly rustic personality, this medium to full-bodied Barbaresco delivers plenty of drinking pleasure in an intense style. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2024. Managing Director Aldo Vacca had some interesting things to say about the 2004 vintage in Barbaresco. “I wasn’t initially convinced about the quality of the vintage until I had the wines fermenting in the cellar, something I also experienced in 1978,” says Vacca. “ The summer wasn’t especially hot, but the Fall was gorgeous, and our harvest took place during the second half of October. Given that yields were on the high side, I felt we needed to be especially selective in the cellar, so we produced roughly 30% less of some of our Riservas by using only the best individual lots for wines like our Ovello, Montestefano and Moccagatta Riservas. Any lots we weren’t thrilled about went into our non-Riserva Barbaresco. In 2004 vineyard exposures were a huge factor in determining maturity, while 2005 was perhaps a touch more consistent throughout, but without the complexity and structure of the 2004s.” Readers who have a hard time finding the 2004s, shouldn’t fret, as the Produttori will also release Riservas for the 2005, 2006 and 2007 vintages, so there will be plenty of wine in the pipeline over the next few years. Given the weakness in the US dollar, readers may want to quickly snap up any remaining stocks of the 2001 Riservas as well. Importer: Vias Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 629-0200