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• Score: 97 Vintage 2021 Kerin O Keefe The compelling 2021 Ovello Riserva from Produttori del Barbaresco opens with captivating aromas of dark culinary spice, underbrush, rose and mentholated notes. Delicious and full-bodied, the palate doles out ripe Marasca cherry, cranberry, star anise and ground clove. Firm, well-integrated tannins lend just the right amount of grip while fresh acidity keeps it bright and balanced. Drink 2028–2036. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 96 Vintage 2021 Vinous Media The 2021 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello sizzles with tension right out of the gate. Orange peel, mint, chalk, white pepper and crushed rocks are all finely sketched. Bright and sinewy to the core, the 2021 captures the purest essence of Ovello. It's another stellar wine in this range. The Ovello will appeal most to readers who like tense wines. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 95 Vintage 2021 James Suckling Restrained if not austere, showing dark fruit, earthy tones and cherries with almost wild blackberries and a whiff of blood oranges. Full-bodied. The attack is dense and velvety with thick, firm tannins that are dusty yet ripe. Powerful but well-balanced at the end, with a mouth-coating texture. March 2026 release, but will need another year or two to be ready to drink. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 95 Vintage 2020 Jeb Dunnuck The nose of the 2020 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello offers a more woodsy profile, with aromas of pine, leather, black raspberries, sweet floral perfume, and licorice candies. The palate is compact and nervous, with dark mineral accents, refreshing, ripe acidity, and a long finish. It is going to benefit from another couple of years and show its best over the following 10, although I wouldn’t be surprised to see it evolve for 15-20 years either. There were 19,425 bottles and 1,954 magnums produced. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 95 Vintage 2020 Wine Spectator Aromas and flavors of hay, cherry, raspberry and rose are the hallmarks of this elegant, succulent red. A fine layer of tannins provides lift, and the flavors are well-delineated through the mineral-infused finish. Shows terrific intensity and tension. Best from 2028 through 2045.—B.S. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 95 Vintage 2020 The Wine Advocate The Ovello vineyard has some northern exposures and generally represents a cooler growing site. You can expect intense fruit flavors and more prominent tannins as a result. The Produttori del Barbaresco 2020 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello fits the bill. Vine growth starts much later and usually lasts longer to produce dark intensity and bold aromas in the wines. In the cold years, the tannins can be aggressive, but in the hot years like 2020, they show better balance. This wine offers ferrous notes of iron and rusty nail followed by cherry-driven sweetness. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 95 Vintage 2020 Kerin O Keefe Red berry, forest floor, new leather and spice shape the fragrant nose on the fantastic 2020 Ovello Riserva. Showing the structure derived from the cru’s predominately clayey soils, it has a backbone of firm but refined tannins that accompany juicy Marasca cherry, tangerine and spicy notes of star anise. Drink 2027–2032. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 95 Vintage 2020 Vinous The 2020 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello is a massive, packed wine. Graphite, crushed rocks, dried herbs and cedar open first. Ovello tends to produce a more linear style of Barbaresco, and that is very much the case here as well. However, the 2020 also possesses notable depth and layers in the mid-palate. It's a gorgeous wine in the making. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 95 Vintage 2019 Wine Enthusiast A perfect mixed garden, with aromas of turned soil, blackberries ready to be picked, herbs fragrantly filling the air and warmed raspberries sitting in their basked weave their way into and out of the glass. Savory flavors of mixed herbs, tobacco and licorice root open the palate as flavors of cherry and marionberries pop with fresh acidity against a frame of elegant and taut tannins. Drink 2026 - 2050 — Jeff Porter Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 94 Vintage 2019 Wine Spectator Round and supple, this red features cherry, raspberry, rose, iron and menthol flavors. Though well-structured, this finishes with a flourish of red fruit and energy. All the elements are there, so give this a few years to integrate. Best from 2027 through 2045. —B.S. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 94 Vintage 2019 Vinous Media The 2019 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello is powerful, savory and intensely linear, in classico Ovello style, and yet it appears to have enough fruit behind its imposing tannins to develop well over the coming years. In this tasting, the Ovello feels pretty closed post bottling, but its inherent balance and qualities are there. Clean saline notes extend the finish in promising fashion. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 93 Vintage 2019 James Suckling Leafy lightness with a meaty character and earthy cherry and pomegranate notes. Firm tannins and crisp acidity on the classic, extracted palate, with massive structure, a medium body and a juicy finish. Drink or hold. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 94 Vintage 2017 James Suckling A tight and pretty Barbaresco with a solid depth of fruit that shows ripe strawberry and terracotta character. Tannins spread across the palate in a chunky way like thick velvet. Juicy and thick at the end. Drink or hold. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 94 Vintage 2017 Wine Spectator Taut and sinewy, boasting cherry, black currant, grass, iron and tar notes. Powerful tannins drive the finish, which is compact for now. In the end, this is lightly astringent, but has plenty of drive and should find equilibrium with time. Best from 2026 through 2043. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 94 Vintage 2017 Wine Advocate One of the bigger productions (with 17,744 bottles) in the Produttori del Barbaresco's portfolio is the 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello. All of the Riservas in this vintage are characterized by especially exuberant and bold aromas, and this bottle is a prime example. Cassis, wild cherry, tobacco, rusty nail and licorice build intensity. The wine is tapered and silky in texture, but it also offers a good amount of power (and 15% alcohol) to carry it through the aging process. Produttori del Barbaresco has been hitting it out of the ballpark these past years with a string of excellent vintages that resulted in the production of their entire line of Riservas. However, that good momentum comes to an end because the Riservas were not made in 2018. That vintage saw all the fruit blended into one non-MGA Barbaresco. And with the 2017 Riservas reviewed here, you might find these bottles hard to find. Production was 30% lower in this growing season because of a very careful fruit selection process. In fact, Aldo Vacca calls 2017 a "roller coaster vintage with frost, then hail, then a summer drought." Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 94 Vintage 2017 Vinous Media The 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello is a heady, explosive wine. I don't think I have ever tasted an Ovello from the Produttori with this much heft. The strong mineral and saline accents typical of this site are present, but they are matched pound for pound by notable mid-palate richness and intensity in its fruit. The 2017 is a brooding powerhouse that needs time to unwind. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 93 Vintage 2017 Wine Enthusiast . Menthol, star anise and blue flower aromas mingle with botanical herb. The full-bodied palate recalls cherry extract, licorice, fruitcake and baking spice alongside densely woven, fine-grained tannins. Drink through 2029 Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 97 Vintage 2016 Vinous Media The 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello is the most severe and angular of these wines. It will appeal most to die-hard classicists. Chalk, white pepper, mint and sweet red cherry fruit all grace this chiseled, beautifully translucent Barbaresco. As always, the Ovello needs a number of years in bottle to reveal its charms, which in 2016 are many. It is a positively stellar wine in every way. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 96 Vintage 2016 Wine Advocate With exactly 16,090 bottles made, the Produttori del Barbaresco 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello is another stellar experience in this series of nine single-vineyard Riserva wines from Barbaresco's most successful wine cooperative. The Ovello is quite sharp and defined in terms of its aromas of wild cherry, dried violet and powdered licorice. Those mineral tones are very clear in this classic vintage. However, the Ovello finishes on a slightly softer note (compared to the Pajè) with a finer and more approachable tannin. The blended fruit for this cru is supplied by the Audasso, Cavallo, Cravanzola, Gonella, Grasso, Maffei, Odore, Sarotto, Unio, Vacca and Varaldo families. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 95 Vintage 2016 Wine Spectator Opulent, this red combines cherry, plum, tar and tobacco flavors with a round profile. Menthol and wild herb accents emerge as do the muscular tannins on the finish. Overall, this is balanced and built for the long haul. Best from 2025 through 2043. 1,580 cases made, 350 cases imported. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 92 Vintage 2016 Wine Enthusiast Aromas of raspberry jam, scorched earth, star anise and wild herb follow over to the brawny palate along with dried cherry and a hint of fennel. Taut, fine-grained tannins provide ample support. Drink sooner rather than later to capture the freshness. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 97 Vintage 2015 Wine Enthusiast Fragrant and full bodied, this structured red has enticing aromas evoking woodland berry, balsamic aromas of pine, rose petal and exotic spice. The enveloping palate delivers crushed raspberry, succulent Marasca cherry, licorice and nutmeg alongside firm, tightly knit tannins. Fresh acidity lends tension and balance. Best 2022–2027 Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 96 Vintage 2015 Wine Spectator An opulent and complex version, boasting cherry, strawberry, cut hay, iron and tobacco aromas and flavors. Firms up nicely on the finish, with terrific balance and length. Shows both a fruity and a savory side, with fine potential to age. Best from 2023 through 2045. 1,561 cases made, 350 cases imported Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 96 Vintage 2015 Wine Spectator An opulent and complex version, boasting cherry, strawberry, cut hay, iron and tobacco aromas and flavors. Firms up nicely on the finish, with terrific balance and length. Shows both a fruity and a savory side, with fine potential to age. Best from 2023 through 2045. 1,561 cases made, 350 cases imported. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 96 Vintage 2015 Wine Advocate The Produttori del Barbaresco 2015 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello has a very distinct character that is expressed in terms of its fine but present tannic structure and its somewhat fragile primary fruit. The Ovello dives straight into those ephemeral Nebbiolo aromas with an emphasis on licorice, tar, blue flower and campfire ash. If you consider this timeline of Riservas, this wine brings us through that magic threshold in which Nebbiolo starts to show its unique aromatic appeal and mystique. This is always one of my favorites in this series of nine. Production is 18,741 bottles. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 95 Vintage 2015 Vinous Media The 2015 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello is dense, pack and rich. Succulent red cherry, spice, dried flowers, mint and chalky notes infuse the Ovello with striking nuance. In 2015 the Ovello is a bit softer than it usually is. That makes the wine easier to enjoy, especially young, but will be of slightly less interest to readers who seek the energy and tension that are such signatures of Ovello Barbarescos. All that said, the 2015 Ovello is a hugely appealing wine. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 95 Vintage 2014 Wine Advocate Always one of my favorite wines from Produttori del Barbaresco, the 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello lays out a broad and soft mouthfeel, with tannins that have already been polished and integrated thanks to ample time in the bottle already. It's safe to say that this Ovello cru loyally demonstrates the level of richness and textural softness that this site is known for. The bouquet is redolent of bright berry fruit with cherry, blackberry and plum. Also, the 2014 vintage was a warm one at the end of the growing season, and you taste a little bit of that ripeness here too. Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 94 Vintage 2014 Wine Enthusiast Lovely aromas of perfumed berry, rose petal, aromatic herb and baking spice set the tone on this fragrant red. The ethereally elegant, medium-bodied palate is all about finesse and balance, delivering succulent red cherry, juicy raspberry, cinnamon and a dash of white pepper. It's nicely balanced, with polished tannins and fresh acidity. It's already accessible but will also age well over the next several years or more. Drink through 2026. KERIN O’KEEFE Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 93 Vintage 2014 Wine Spectator Balsamic aromas of menthol, wild thyme and juniper complement the black cherry core of this muscular red, with dense tannins lending support. Though a bit more severe now than its peers, this is balanced overall and will age well. Best from 2022 through 2042. 1,436 cases made, 372 cases imported. — BS Shelf Talker Full Page Review
• Score: 96 Vintage 2013 Vinous Media The Produttori’s 2013 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello is all power, tension and nerve. Even so, the 2013 is remarkably civilized and much less austere than young Ovello Barbarescos usually are. Scents of cranberry, white pepper and mint give the wine its signature high-toned aromatics. The Ovello has a Volnay-like purity to its fruit, with Nebbiolo tannins and structure, of course. If that sounds appealing, well, it is. Vivid, sculpted and impossibly beautiful, the Ovello is simply magnificent. Shelf Talker Full Page Review