5 | Wine | Barolo, 750 ml | Page 6

"Sandrone’s 2008 Barolo Le Vigne is a wine of breathtaking textural finesse and elegance. Nothing really stands out, so phenomenal is the wine’s balance and sense of harmony. This is the kind of wine that is easy to overlook because it doesn’t ask for attention and isn’t showy. Instead, everything is simply in the right place. The finest, most silky of tannins support a core of sweet red berries, flowers, mint and spices, all of which are woven together with total refinement. The eternal, nuanced finish bodes very well for the future. This is a dazzling effort from Luciano and Luca Sandrone."

"The 2006 Barolo Riserva Vignolo literally sparkles on the palate with layers of brilliant dark red fruit, flowers, mint and spices. It shows striking inner sweetness and perfume, with big yet well-integrated tannins and breathtaking balance. This is a great 2006 Barolo in the making. The tannins are huge, but so is the fruit. The 2006 Vignolo is going to be a fascinating wine to follow over the next few decades."

"The 2007 Barolo Lazzarito is a superb, plush wine loaded with dark fruit, flowers of all sorts, sweet menthol and minerals, all of which flow through to the long, powerful finish. The wine's inner perfume emerges over time, adding even more nuance and subtlety to this big Barolo. The 2007 Lazzarito is far from an open, easygoing wine, in fact it needs time, and lots of it."

"Brooding aromas of currant, minerals, tobacco, truffle and earth; strong aspect of medicinal austerity. Suave, bright and young; offers an uncanny combination of sweetness and powerful structure. Very rich, mouthfilling wine with even more power and thrust than the young 2000. Finishes with very fine, sweet tannins and outstanding persistence." Reviewed by Stephen Tanzer.

"The 1999 Sori Tildin is a knockout wine. It offers a classic, expressive nose of flowers and spices and somewhat austere profile of sweet red fruit, minerals and menthol on a mid-weight frame. It is the hardest of these wines to read today, but I found myself coming back to it often and discovering new nuances with each taste."

"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."

"The 2005 Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto is a massive, towering Barolo loaded with tons of rich, primary fruit. The wine remains powerful, dense and muscular with superb length even if it is a smaller-scaled Barolo compared to previous great vintages. That said, when I came back to the wine after it had been in the glass for an hour or so, I found that the wine had grown remarkably."