2005 Barolo Cerequio

Medium red. More primary fruit on the nose than the Brunate currently shows: cherry, strawberry, dried rose. Then silky and pliant in the mouth, with nicely harmonious acidity framing the sweet red fruit flavors. The tannins are substantial but broad and sweet. I like this wine's youthful fruit character. A lovely middle-of-the-road style that should give pleasure early but also last well in bottle. As with the Brunate, the vines here range from 20 to 40 years of age.

Meaty, gamey, more transparent and lighter than the 2004. Probably should have been served before the 2004... a little mean-seeming afterwards, though clearly of great quality. (JR)

Voerzio’s 2005 Barolo Cerequio is the most complex and structured of these offerings. Pretty, floral aromas lead to soft, expressive red fruit as this perfumed Barolo opens up in the glass. The wine continues to grow as its layers of inner sweetness flow with exceptional grace and elegance. Round, refined tannins give this wine a final sense of polish on the close. This is a remarkable effort in this vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2025. There is mixed news this year from Roberto Voerzio. The not so good news is that Voerzio decided to bottle just four of his eight 2005 Barolo selections. The better news is that, as is often the case, his Barolos are among the finest of the vintage. Unfortunately the wines will be especially hard to come by this year. There are no Barolos from Sarmassa, Capalot or Rocche dell’Annunziata as the wines did not meet Voerzio’s exacting standards of quality. Small defects that are common in cool vintages could have been addressed with the use of commercial yeasts and other additives, but Voerzio eschews anything that gets in the way of his stripped-down, non-interventionalist approach in the cellar. Voerzio also had hail damage from hail in the upper reaches of La Serra, and his wine from that vineyard was enough to fill one measly 12-hectoliter tank. As partial compensation, there will be a Riserva from Fossati/Case Nere which will be released somewhere around 2015. In today’s business-first world it is a sign of a serious commitment to quality when a producer consciously chooses to not bottle wines over putting a less than perfect product on the market. Voerzio’s wines are never inexpensive, but over the last few years they have rarely failed to deliver the goods. A Leonardo Lo Cascio Selection, Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620