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"Gaja’s 2008 Sori San Lorenzo is impeccable from start to finish. The 2008 is a round, seamless San Lorenzo with seemingly no hard edges and terrific overall balance. The signature aromas and flavors are there, as is the wine’s typical gravitas, yet the 2008 has an extra level of sweetness, its size notwithstanding. The wine possesses striking inner perfume and fabulous overall balance. The sheer excitement of the very finest years isn’t quite there, but this is a fine bottle just the same. An explosive, juicy finish rounds things out in style."

"A deep, muscular wine endowed with superb richness, inner perfume and structure. From cask this has always been an intense, inward Barolo and now that it is in bottle, those qualities seem even more prominent. Over time, the classic Cascina Francia bouquet of roses, tar, herbs and licorice comes forward, but only reluctantly. A massive wall of tannins prevents the fruit from emerging, but every now and then the wine shows hints of its ultimate potential."

"The 2006 Gattinara Castelle flows with the essence of dark fruit, smoke, tar and scorched earth. This is a decidedly powerful, intense Gattinara endowed with gorgeous intensity in its fruit and fabulous overall balance. Floral notes are woven gracefully into the juicy, generous finish. The Castelle has more than enough structure to develop nicely for a number of years."

"Dark in color, with a fabulous purity of fruit, from blackberry to blueberry. Full-bodied, showing awesome concentration, but with a finish that's beautiful and honest."

"It shows remarkable balance and harmony in an incredibly pure, graceful style. The tannins are so finessed and elegant it is hard to actually perceive them on the palate. Here too, the wine shows awesome inner balance and poise. Sweet raspberries, flowers, roses and spices are just some of the nuances that emerge from this incredibly delicious, promising Barbaresco."

"The 2007 Barbaresco Santo Stefano is a gorgeous wine that combines element of ripeness, structure and the intense spiciness that makes the best wines from the Santo Stefano vineyard so compelling. Floral, high-toned notes appear on the silky finish, rounding out this highly promising wine. Gorgeous textural elegance and balance are the hallmarks of the 2007 Santo Stefano."

"Fabulously rich, dense and well-balanced in this vintage. The Costa Grimaldi is made from a parcel of the Via Nuova vineyard in Barolo at 350 meters above sea level with a sheltered south-east exposure that provides respite in warmer years. This shows tons of vintage character in its racy, elegant fruit and silky tannins, along with superb depth and intensity, all of which have been achieved in a fairly restrained style. This is a fabulous effort from Einaudi."

"Cherry, red berries, menthol and a whiff of marzipan on the nose and palate. Firm, harmonious acidity gives this wine lovely vinosity and elegance, with an enticing minerality adding complexity. This is riper and sweeter than the 2005-more glyceral-but has excellent energy. In fact, it's still a bit youthfully compressed. Carlo Revello noted that the estate increased the quality of its crus by declassifying a good bit of fruit in '06, but that this move was done "due to the market." This is the only Barolo here that's made in larger barrels."

"The 2003 Sori San Lorenzo is simply awesome. Boasting the darkest color of these wines as well as captivating aromatics, it is a brooding effort packed with notes of earthiness, tar, smoke, grilled herbs, cassis, licorice and super-ripe plummy fruit. It shows the qualities of 2003 in its full-throttle, expansive style yet it also possesses remarkable balance as well as fine tannins for the vintage. Although there is a little heat on the finish, I found this an utterly compelling wine."

"Offers Christmas pudding, currant and other dried fruit. Full-bodied, with amazing concentration of ripe fruit and chewy tannins. Yet it's all in balance. Monumental."