The 2006 Barbera d'Asti Superiore Nizza Riserva della Famiglia is a sophisticated and deeply layered red wine that bursts open with dark fruit, Morello cherry, spice, leather, tobacco and cigar box. The wine's intensity is impressive, and this elegant Barbera should be paired with roasted lamb or stewed meats. The wine has the natural heft and succulence to match those foods. It also offers enough clean acidity to keep the palate refreshed.

The star player is the 2005 Barbera d’Asti Superiore Nizza Riserva della Famiglia that opens with midnight black intensity and brooding aromas of exotic spice, toasted nut, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, prune, cured meat and moist chewing tobacco. It is aged in French barrique for 16 months. The intensity of the wine is so stratospheric that it is almost too much of a good thing. The texture is thick and lavish with wave after wave of dark fruit intensity that moves heavily over the palate. There’s craft and beauty here, but its all delivered in oversized portions. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2020. Coppo was founded in 1892 by Piero Coppo and is now managed by his grandsons Piero, Gianni, Paolo and Roberto. They own 25 hectares of vineyard in the townships of Castelnuovo Calcea, Agliano Terme and Canelli (known for the production of Moscato d’Asti) with an additional five hectares in Monterotondo di Gavi that is entirely planted with white Cortese grapes. They offer a wide portfolio of wines (with Chardonnay and blended reds among them), but Barbera is the flagship red variety. Coppo started producing Barolo in 2003 after a 23-year pause. They are allowed to vinify outside the production zone, 50 kilometers away in Canelli, because they are grandfathered into older regulations thanks to the winery’s historic status. Importer: Folio Fine Wine Partners, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 256-2700

A full-throttle, in-your-face style, with a core of sweet boysenberry, cherry and raspberry flavors accented by oak spice and mineral. Bright, fresh and intense, with a lightness to the wine and a long, lingering aftertaste of fruit and spice. Demonstrates Barbera's capacity to age and develop. Drink now through 2015. 216 cases made.??–BS??Region: Italy / Piedmont / Barbera d'Asti Select to Add

The 2004 Barbera d’Asti Superiore Nizza Riserva della Famiglia is the estate’s darkest, most sumptuous Barbera. Smoke, tar, scorched earth and plums are some of the nuances that emerge from this fat, full-bodied Barbera. The Riserva della Famiglia possesses plenty of textural richness and concentration, but the bouquet is not as clean as I had hoped, particularly considering this is the estate’s flagship Barbera. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2018. Importer: Folio Fine Wine Partners, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 256-2700