The estate’s 2003 Barbera d’Alba Riserva della Famiglia flows with the essence of blackberries, minerals, spices and graphite, all of which come together in an incredibly rich expression of Barbera. The aromatics aren’t quite as clean as they should be at the outset, and significant aeration is needed for the wine to find its focus. This sumptuous Barbera spent 16 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2015. Coppo – one of Piedmont’s historic properties – makes a wide range of wines but they seem to do best when they kept things simple, as some of the wines remain excessively oaked and heavy.A Leonardo Lo Cascio Selection, Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620

Coppo’s top of the line 2003 Barbera d’Asti Riserva Famiglia is a racy, super-ripe wine bursting with intense dark fruit. Notes of leather, spices and sweet toasted oak swirl around in the glass as this opulent wine gradually opens up. With a touch more freshness and better balance the wine might merit a higher score. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2013. A Leonardo Lo Cascio Selection, Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620

The 1999 Barbera d’Asti Riserva della Famiglia, is ample in aroma, fleshy and full, and complex with some light notes of saddle leather and game along with the blackberry/plum fruit and cinnamon/clove spices. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2009. A Leonardo Locascio Selection, Winebow, Hohokus, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620

The 1998 Barbera d'Asti Riserva della Familia is a 100% new oak-aged cuvee that had the "full monty" garage wine treatment of malolactic in barrel, 18 months in new wood, and 32 months in the bottle prior to release. No shy wine at 13.7% alcohol, it comes from a vineyard planted on pure limestone. More Bordeaux-like than Piedmontese, it offers up notes of white pepper, cedar, spice box, graphite, black fruits, and toasty vanilla. Dense, full-bodied, deep, and concentrated, with a 40-second finish, this superb Barbera d'Asti is totally different from anything else I have tasted from Piedmont. Drink it over the next 5-6 years. A Leonardo Locascio Selection, Winebow, Hohokus, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620