3 | Wine | Barbaresco, 91 to 95

"This bright red exhibits floral, cherry and tar flavors, with a firm edge of tannins closing the wine down on the finish. An elegant Barbaresco that should fall into place in a few years."

"The 2008 Barbaresco Serra flows with sweet rose petals, cherries, spices and minerals. It shows lovely overall balance and harmony especially in the energetic finish. The Serra is already pretty inviting, but it will be better with a little more bottle age."

"The 2005 Barbaresco Rabaja is the densest and richest of these 2005 Barbarescos. Because it is aged in a slightly smaller cask, the wine shows an explosive personality along with some oak nuances that require bottle age to settle down. This muscular Barbaresco resonates on the palate with layers of spiced, mentholated dark cherries, minerals and licorice. It remains a dense, structured and primary wine in need of serious bottle age for the firm tannins to melt away. This, too, is a sublime wine from Bruno Giacosa."

"An aromatic and flavorful red, with rose, cherry, licorice, tobacco and briar notes. Both supple and vibrant, this has an elegance that belies the extremely dense tannins. Shows excellent length, with an aftertaste of fruit, underbrush and mineral."

"The 2006 Barbaresco is a gorgeous, generous Barbaresco loaded with ripe dark fruit. This is an especially harmonious, refined Barbaresco from the Produttori that is also somewhat unusual for its dark, brooding personality. Licorice, leather and tar linger on the powerful finish. Today the wine is remarkable for its depth and concentration, while the aromatic complexity will develop in bottle...Simply put, this is a marvelous effort."

"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."

"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."

This wine was named #17 of Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2012.

"This concentrated, well-toned red is packed with cherry, plum, soy and spice aromas and flavors. Round and balanced, with a sweet berry and mineral aftertaste. Really builds nicely, gaining elegance and intensity. The fine aftertaste of cherry, tobacco and woodsy notes lingers."

This wine was named #44 of Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2011.

"Superfresh and focused, delivering pure flavors of blackberry, black currant, violet and mineral, with a hint of tar. It's all backed by refined tannins and bright acidity, providing structure that should allow this to develop over the next 20 years."