Readers should make a point to should check out the estate’s 2003 Barbaresco as this year’s release is off the charts. The single-vineyard Riservas will not be produced in 2003 and this wine clearly benefits from the addition of that fruit. It is an unusually rich and expansive wine for this estate, packed with heady sensations of spices, licorice and menthol that are followed by deep layers of super-ripe fruit that fill out the wine’s frame with excellent concentration and fleshiness, closing with beautifully well-integrated tannins that are the exception rather than the rule in 2003. Atypically large-scaled and ample for a Barbaresco from this estate, it is also the finest normale the winery has released in many a year. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2018. Importer: Vias Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 629-0200

Plenty of jam and berry character, with hints of plum. Full-bodied, with velvety, chewy tannins and a long finish. Slightly one-dimensional, but very good. Best after 2008. 16,000 cases made, 3,500 cases imported.??–JS??Region: Italy / Piedmont / Barbaresco Select to Add