Complete with producer profiles and tags
Produttori del Barbaresco
Via Torino, 54, 12050 Barbaresco CN, Italia
Categories
Co-operatives
Location
Langhe - Barbaresco
In 1894, Domizio Cavazza founded Barbaresco’s first cooperative, the Cantine Sociali. In 1920, the Cantine was forced to close; it wasn’t until 1958 that the cooperative reemerged as the Produttori del Barbaresco. For around 10 years, the Produttori made only one wine; the first release of a single-vineyard wine was in 1967, and in 1975, a Langhe Nebbiolo was made.
In 1984, the cooperative hired a full-time professional winemaker who remains at the winery to this day, having spent his entire career working with just one grape. All single-vineyard wines undergo the same vinification, fermenting in 50 and 100-hl temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Meanwhile, the Langhe Nebbiolo is fermented in concrete tanks, which are maintained in the old winery. The wines spend 20 days on skins with pumpovers 2-3 times per day for the first week. Once fermentation is almost complete, the cap is submerged, and the must is fermented bone dry. The wines are then aged in a combination of 25, 50 and 75hl French and Slavonian oak, all maintained for at least 25 years.
Today, the cooperative is managed by a board of 9 farmers and a president, elected by the 54 members once every three years. As more efficient and effective equipment has become available, the board has encouraged the growers (who are paid based on sugar, colour intensity and phenolic ripeness) to invest a percentage of their profits into updating winery facilities and equipment, including a new pneumatic crusher-destemmer and a comprehensive barrel rejuvenation programme. The finished wines are high quality and great value, with concentrated flavours and a classic tannin profile with vitalising acids.
As more local growers achieve roaring success bottling their own wines, selling fruit in obscurity to a cooperative may prove unattractive to younger growers. In Barolo, where no such cooperative exists, a growing cohort of young growers have garnered critical acclaim, allocating their entire productions and demanding global attention. In this changing landscape, the Produttori may struggle to retain all its growers, and for wine drinkers, this is arguably no bad thing.
In 1984, the cooperative hired a full-time professional winemaker who remains at the winery to this day, having spent his entire career working with just one grape. All single-vineyard wines undergo the same vinification, fermenting in 50 and 100-hl temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Meanwhile, the Langhe Nebbiolo is fermented in concrete tanks, which are maintained in the old winery. The wines spend 20 days on skins with pumpovers 2-3 times per day for the first week. Once fermentation is almost complete, the cap is submerged, and the must is fermented bone dry. The wines are then aged in a combination of 25, 50 and 75hl French and Slavonian oak, all maintained for at least 25 years.
Today, the cooperative is managed by a board of 9 farmers and a president, elected by the 54 members once every three years. As more efficient and effective equipment has become available, the board has encouraged the growers (who are paid based on sugar, colour intensity and phenolic ripeness) to invest a percentage of their profits into updating winery facilities and equipment, including a new pneumatic crusher-destemmer and a comprehensive barrel rejuvenation programme. The finished wines are high quality and great value, with concentrated flavours and a classic tannin profile with vitalising acids.
As more local growers achieve roaring success bottling their own wines, selling fruit in obscurity to a cooperative may prove unattractive to younger growers. In Barolo, where no such cooperative exists, a growing cohort of young growers have garnered critical acclaim, allocating their entire productions and demanding global attention. In this changing landscape, the Produttori may struggle to retain all its growers, and for wine drinkers, this is arguably no bad thing.
Flagship Wines
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco