The 2006 Barbera d’Alba Superiore Falletto is a fresh, vibrant wine loaded with dark fruit, minerals and spices. In this vintage it is a soft, approachable wine with plenty of style. As good as this is, I had hoped the estate might come close to the knockout 2003 considering the heat of this vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2014. My May visit with Bruno Giacosa was significant in many ways. It was the first time in many years that the recently departed, long-time oenologist wasn’t on hand to lead the tasting. At the same time, Giacosa appeared to be in higher spirits than I have witnessed in previous recent visits. Oftentimes change can be invigorating, and I certainly hope that will be the case here. New oenologist Giorgio Lavagna has his work cut out for him, but I can only wish him the very best. As for the wines, we spent several hours surveying all the 2005s, 2006s and 2007s from cask, after which we re-visited several of the 2004s from bottle. The 2004s confirmed their stature as masterpieces, yet Giacosa fans will delight at the prospect of a number of potentially outstanding wines in the pipeline. The 2005 Barbarescos have always shown tons of harmony and elegance from cask, so I was happy to find the wines just as outstanding from bottle. Although there are no Red Label Riservas from Giacosa in 2005, the wines display remarkable quality across the board. The rest of the line-up is solid as well. A Leonardo Lo Cascio Selection, Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620

Luscious blackberry and licorice fruit follows through to a medium body, with a pretty core of fruit and a fresh finish. Giacosa is known for his Barolo from this vineyard, but the Barbera is also very good. Drink now. 750 cases made, 100 cases imported.??–JS??Region: Italy / Piedmont / Barbera d'Alba Select to Add