2011 Produttori del Barbaresco Riservas : Rabaja, Asili and Pajé

Steve Russo and I participated in a tasting of the 2011 vintage Produttori at a local wine shop. Got to meet Jeff Henson, fellow Vinous member, for the first time.  

On to the wines....

.... all showed beautifully with the Pajé being the most open at this stage and imminently drinkable. Elegant,  lithe and highly alluring ...  luscious fruit balanced with nice underlying minerality. .. very, very nice florals on the nose with accents of balsam and lilting creosote.  The Pajé attracted everyone's immediate attention as the tasting got underway. It's going to be hard to keep my hands off of these bottles. 

The Asili is bigger, beautiful and more closed at this point, yet exhibiting an overall refinement with intriguing notes of tobacco and sous bois. Some hints of anise on the nose. It opened up more in the glass over the next hour or so, and had the most distinctive profile of the three cuvee's tasted.  Today’s showing previewed the bright future ahead for this bottling. ..

Now we come to my favorite of the flight, even though I perceived it (initially) to be the least ready to drink and not revealing much. Bold tannins (but not hard) with dark, pristine cherry fruit and a framework of fine minerality. Savory balsamic influence began to unfold on the palate which, coupled with mint and spices on the nose, had me coming back to this beauty again and again. The Rabaja captured my attention as the most complex and fascinating of the three cuvee's tasted at this session. What a wine  :)