The 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Pajè is impressive on all fronts, but especially in terms of aromas. There's so much brightness here with red and purple fruits, rust and a dark note of clove or exotic spice. No element is out of place, but together they help to build the intensity of this balanced wine. It shows a soft, velvety texture, and perhaps there is a little more ripeness overall in this warm vintage. Production is 6,666 bottles.

The 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Pajè (with only 6,423 bottles released) shows contoured lines and elegant sharpness, with cherry and cassis that segue to smoke, tar and licorice. This wine is beautifully pristine and targeted in terms of its aromatic delivery. Nothing falls by the wayside. That neat, tucked-in personality also distinguishes the wine in terms of mouthfeel, with firm structure, tannins and taut fruit tension. Pajè shows exceptionally well in this vintage. The Basso and Giordano family vineyards supply the fruit in this Riserva.

The Produttori del Barbaresco 2015 Barbaresco Riserva Pajè shows a heavier center of gravity (compared to the Pora) with thicker concentration of dark fruit at the middle. The jump is not big, but it is noticeable, like one step up a ladder. This wine produces more ferrous earth and iron ore with plenty of dark fruit. The mouthfeel is less complicated and shorter too in this vintage, although the tannins feel firm and prominent. Between Pora and Pajè, I'd give a slight edge to Pora. Some 10,000 bottles were released.

The 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Pajè is one tiny degree darker in color saturation compared to the expression from the Pora vineyard. (I tasted these single-vineyard Riserva wines moving up the intensity gradient in the order suggested by the estate). This wine offers a slightly softer, rounder and richer quality of fruit. On the palate, those red fruit flavors are long lasting and thick in textural richness. This wine is beautiful straight out of the gate.