The Barbera of the house has become a legend in its short lifetime (the first vintage was 1996), and the 2000 Barbera d’Alba Riserva Vigneto Pozzo lives up to its fame. The customary inky ruby/purple, its stupefying rich nose of plum and blackberry jam, mocha, caramel, vanilla, and cardamom, warm, caressing, and penetrating, is followed by the usual massive, unctuously textured palate, almost more than a liquid in its density, yet of superlative smoothness, silky, enveloping, and exceptionally long. The sheer weight of the wine suggests that it may keep, but I prefer Barbera, even at this level, reasonably young, and would choose to drink it between 2004 and 2010. A Leonardo Locascio Selection, Winebow, Hohokus, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620