The 2007 Barbaresco Riserva Muncagotta is the most forward of the 2007 Riservas. Sweet tobacco, leather, dried flowers and dark cherries are some of the notes that emerge from the glass. The Muncagotta comes across as rather feminine, with less of the radiance and lushness of the best wines of the year. The aromas and flavors are already a bit advanced, which isn’t terribly surprising considering the site and year. Ideally the Muncagotta is best enjoyed sooner rather than later. Readers shoud note the new spelling for this wine, which reflects the updated vineyard designations that went into effect in Barbaresco with the 2007 vintage. The Muncagotta is the new name for the wine and vineyards previously known as Moccagatta. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2017. The 2007 Riservas saw a lengthy period of four or more weeks on the skins. The wines spent a total of three years in oak, the first year in 25-35 HL casks, an additional 12-18 months in larger 50-75 HL casks, and a final 6-12 months back in the smaller casks. When the 2007 Riservas were younger, the personality of the vintage was quite apparent, but as the wines have aged the site specificity of these great vineyards has begun to emerge. The 2007 Riservas are big wines that should drink well upon release, but they also appear to have enough structure to develop beautifully in the cellar.Importer: Vias Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 629-0200

The 2005 Barbaresco Riserva Moccagatta is one of the more compact, linear wines in this vintage. The Moccagatta offers up sensations of bright red fruits, flowers, spices and vanilla in a rather unyielding style. The wine should improve in bottle but the tannins will likely always remain somewhat firm. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025. The Produttori del Barbaresco have another set of wonderful wines on their hands with these new releases. The Produttori have long made delicious, ageworthy Barbarescos, but in the last few years the overall level of quality and consistency has gone up several notches. Best of all, prices have remained exceedingly fair. The 2005 Riservas are worthy successors to the magical 2004s. The 2005 have more overt fruit than the 2004s but lack the explosive, layered quality that defines so many of the wines of that magical harvest. Still, these fine, traditionally built Barbarescos deserve serious attention. The estate’s fans will be delighted to learn that Riservas are planned for the 2006, 2007 and 2008 vintages. Readers who want to learn more about the Produttori may want to revisit my article on www.erobertparker.com for notes on a number of the estate’s legendary, benchmark wines. Importer: Vias Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 629-0200

The 2004 Barbaresco Riserva Moccagatta suffers only by virtue of being placed among this group of phenomenal wines; most producers would be delighted to have this as their top Barbaresco. As is often the case, the Moccagatta is a relatively accessible, forward wine, but like the Rio Sordo, it has an unusual level of plumpness and inner sweetness that makes up for any complexity that may be missing. Sweet spices, plums, prunes and espresso are just some of the nuances to be found in this compelling wine. The Moccagatta should be one of the more accessible Riservas early on. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2022. Managing Director Aldo Vacca had some interesting things to say about the 2004 vintage in Barbaresco. “I wasn’t initially convinced about the quality of the vintage until I had the wines fermenting in the cellar, something I also experienced in 1978,” says Vacca. “ The summer wasn’t especially hot, but the Fall was gorgeous, and our harvest took place during the second half of October. Given that yields were on the high side, I felt we needed to be especially selective in the cellar, so we produced roughly 30% less of some of our Riservas by using only the best individual lots for wines like our Ovello, Montestefano and Moccagatta Riservas. Any lots we weren’t thrilled about went into our non-Riserva Barbaresco. In 2004 vineyard exposures were a huge factor in determining maturity, while 2005 was perhaps a touch more consistent throughout, but without the complexity and structure of the 2004s.” Readers who have a hard time finding the 2004s, shouldn’t fret, as the Produttori will also release Riservas for the 2005, 2006 and 2007 vintages, so there will be plenty of wine in the pipeline over the next few years. Given the weakness in the US dollar, readers may want to quickly snap up any remaining stocks of the 2001 Riservas as well. Importer: Vias Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 629-0200