Aromas of stones, seashell, plum and strawberry as well as orange peel follow through to a medium to full body with chewy tannins that are slightly angular but it turns juicy and beautiful at the end. Needs time to soften. Made only in magnums. Drink after 2028.

Lots of orange peel and dried flowers with dark fruits on the nose. The palate shows plenty of ripe fruit but the tannins hold it back and give it structure. Chewy at the end. Made only in magnums. Try after 2028.

Vanilla and sweet spice notes lead off, with cherry and strawberry flavors close behind. The solid backbone quickly shuts this down, but all the elements are in balance. Best from 2019 through 2032. 60 cases made, 15 cases imported.??–BS??Region: Italy / Piedmont / Barolo Select to Add

The 2010 Barolo Sarmassa (tasted in a magnum) opens to soft, toasted notes of exotic spice, clove and black pepper. There’s a great level of dimension and fruit-driven softness at the heart of this delicious Barolo. Davide and Roberto cut away up to two thirds of each cluster in the vineyard to ensure evenness in ripening. All barrique Drink: 2017-2034. Roberto Voerzio started buying prized vineyard parcels in 1982 and has since amassed one of the most important portfolios of single-vineyards (15 parcels over totaling 12 hectares) in La Morra (with Sarmassa and a piece of Cerequio in the neighboring township of Barolo). He follows a unique winemaking philosophy that is somewhere on the spectrum between traditionalists and modernist, but Roberto himself brushes off these broad stroke categories with a shrug and a smile. “In the years between 2003 and 2007, my approach to oak changed over and over. I went from larger containers to smaller ones and back again to larger,” he says: “Ultimately no one really noticed. What is noticeable however is his non-interventionist’s approach. He uses ambient years without sulfites for the fermentations followed by spontaneous malolactic fermentations and does not filter. He also chooses different bottle formats to represent each wine (with a generous array of large format bottles) and sells them in meticulously numbered lots. Fossati was latest acquisition with 20 and 30 years vines. Importer: Winebow, www.winebow.com

The 2009 Barolo Sarmassa di Barolo (tasted in a magnum) shows delicate embroidery of shaved mineral, dried cherry fruit, ash, tar, licorice, ginger and light teriyaki. End notes of toasted hazelnut are reminiscent of the perfumes that waft over Alba’s Ferrero chocolate factory. Silky firmness and structure mean this wine will have no problem facing the years. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2030. The wines of Roberto and Davide Voerzio offer a fitting conclusion to this tasting of Piedmont’s best red wines. These are stunning wines that capture, head on, the beauty of the 2009 vintage. They remind us of the dazzling heights achieved by the Nebbiolo grape. Importer: Winebow, Pinebrook, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620