Barbaresco Riserva Ovello, Produttori del Barbaresco 2014

My preview tasting of the 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello reveals a wine of beautiful intensity and impressive potential. The cooler 2014 summer season has helped to develop greater acidity that holds the fiber of this wine tightly together. The 2013 vintage is velvetier in comparison, with looser stitching in its fiber. Instead, the 2014 vintage shows a very polished, firm and tonic personality. I tasted this sample after bottling, but the wine will hit the market toward the end of this year. This Barbaresco Riserva will require extra cellar time to relax and unwind.

Vineyard size: 20.3 ha (50 acres). Vineyard exposure: south-west/south-east. Soil: limestone and clay. Vinification: fermentation at 30 °C (85 °F), 28 days’ skin contact, malolactic completed. Ageing: 36 months in large oak barrels and 12 months in bottle. Bottling date: April 2018. Total production: 17,240 bottles and 1,232 magnums. This is bottle number 2192. Mid ruby with orange tinges. Ripe, cool raspberry with quite a bit of concentration underneath, but still quite closed. Concentrated raspberry and strawberry palate with a linear, precise vein of acidity running all the way through. It gets more perfumed by the second while sitting in the glass. Bags of powdery tannins lining the concentrated, fresh raspberry fruit. 14% Drink 2020-2030