Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Rabaja Riserva (1.5 Liter Magnum) 2016
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Rabajà produces a quintessential Barbaresco, one of the most complete and balanced of the single vineyards. The vineyard lays at the conjunction of the two main ridges that form the Barbaresco village, one starting at Rabajà and going West towards the Tanaro River (with progressively less calcium and higher fertility in the soil) and the other one that goes from Rabajà to Ovello, South to North (with higher calcium content in the soil). The meeting of these two different soils give to Rabajà its incredible complexity. Bordering both Asili and Muncagota it combines the personality of those two great vineyards with and extra richness due to the South/West warm exposure. First produced as a single vineyard in 1970.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Rabajà is known for its precision and extreme balance, and these qualities are especially pronounced in this excellent vintage. The Produttori del Barbaresco 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà is a gorgeous wine, and one that is offered at an unbelievably low price, especially considering the quality and depth you are given here. Sheer elegance is the impression you get upon first inspection, and the bouquet opens gradually to embrace wild berry, cherry, white stone, light spice, tar and hint of toasted hazelnut. Quite a few families contribute fruit for this blend: Antona, Arossa, Bianco, Casetta, Lembo, Lignana, Manzone, Vacca and Vezza. 12,826 bottles were made this vintage.
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Wine Spectator
There is purity and definition to the rose, cherry, strawberry and spice aromas and flavors in this red. Draped on an elegant profile, with a terrific mineral underpinning. Harmony and finesse renders this red approachable now, yet this will improve with a few years of aging. Best from 2025 through 2047.
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Wine Enthusiast
Mature berry, pipe tobacco and violet aromas waft out of the glass on this full-bodied red along with a whiff of new leather. Firmly structured and austere, the muscular, full-bodied palate presents dried cherry, blood orange and licorice framed in tightly knit, close-grained tannins. You’ll also notice the warmth of alcohol on the close.
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Founded in 1958, the priest of the village of Barbaresco, recognizing that the only way small properties could survive was by joining their efforts, gathered together nineteen small growers and founded the Produttori del Barbaresco. From its humble beginnings making the first three vintages in the church basement, Produttori del Barbaresco has grown to a 52 member co-operative with 250 acres of Nebbiolo vineyards in the Barbaresco appellation and an annual production of over 500,000 bottles. Its vineyards amount to almost 1/6 of the vineyards of the area. Each member is in full control of their land, growing Nebbiolo grapes with the skill and dedication they have honed over generations.
Playing a key role in elevating the quality level of Barbaresco over the years, Produttori del Barbaresco produces a simpler Nebbiolo Langhe, a Barbaresco blend and nine single vineyard wines produced in premier vineyards: Asili, Rabaja, Pora, Montestefano, Ovello, Paje, Montefico, Muncagota and Rio Sordo.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
A wine that most perfectly conveys the spirit and essence of its place, Barbaresco is true reflection of terroir. Its star grape, like that in the neighboring Barolo region, is Nebbiolo. Four townships within the Barbaresco zone can produce Barbaresco: the actual village of Barbaresco, as well as Neive, Treiso and San Rocco Seno d'Elvio.
Broadly speaking there are more similarities in the soils of Barbaresco and Barolo than there are differences. Barbaresco’s soils are approximately of the same two major soil types as Barolo: blue-grey marl of the Tortonion epoch, producing more fragile and aromatic characteristics, and Helvetian white yellow marl, which produces wines with more structure and tannins.
Nebbiolo ripens earlier in Barbaresco than in Barolo, primarily due to the vineyards’ proximity to the Tanaro River and lower elevations. While the wines here are still powerful, Barbaresco expresses a more feminine side of Nebbiolo, often with softer tannins, delicate fruit and an elegant perfume. Typical in a well-made Barbaresco are expressions of rose petal, cherry, strawberry, violets, smoke and spice. These wines need a few years before they reach their peak, the best of which need over a decade or longer. Bottle aging adds more savory characteristics, such as earth, iron and dried fruit.