2014 Barbaresco Pora Riserva Produttori del Barbaresco

I had tasted this vintage last year as a barrel sample. Now a fully complete wine, the 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Pora did not disappoint, and even jumped up a few points. The Riserva Pora opens to dark fruit intensity with a slightly more accessible quality. Those lovely floral tones of lavender and violet are ever present. After having spent three years in oak and another year in the bottle, this wine offers a looser mouthfeel in terms of tannic structure, making it a bit more open and immediate in personality. You could uncork this bottle in 2020 if you just can't wait, but ideally, it is meant for the longer haul. 2021 - 2035.

The 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Pora is a dark, sensual beauty. Deeply spiced and balsamic, with tremendous textural richness, the Pora is utterly beguiling. I can't remember a Pora with this much depth, textural resonance and brooding intensity. The 2014 needs at least a few years to be at its best, but it is superb even in the early going. I won't be surprised if the 2014 turns out to be better than this note suggests 2024 - 2044.

Although Pora is a relatively low-elevation site and can produce broad wines, Produttori's growers own almost half the cru, so they can select the best grapes for this Riserva. It's beautifully perfumed, with pure raspberry fruit. The palate is streamlined and poised, with a sleek texture and a remarkable purity of flavour, yet it doesn't lack structure and its fine acidity gives it drive and persistence.