2005 Barbaresco Asili

Giacosa’s 2005 Barbaresco Asili is noticeably rounder, sweeter and denser than the Santo Stefano. 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. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2025. My May visit with Bruno Giacosa was significant in many ways. It was the first time in many years that the recently departed, long-time oenologist wasn’t on hand to lead the tasting. At the same time, Giacosa appeared to be in higher spirits than I have witnessed in previous recent visits. Oftentimes change can be invigorating, and I certainly hope that will be the case here. New oenologist Giorgio Lavagna has his work cut out for him, but I can only wish him the very best. As for the wines, we spent several hours surveying all the 2005s, 2006s and 2007s from cask, after which we re-visited several of the 2004s from bottle. The 2004s confirmed their stature as masterpieces, yet Giacosa fans will delight at the prospect of a number of potentially outstanding wines in the pipeline. The 2005 Barbarescos have always shown tons of harmony and elegance from cask, so I was happy to find the wines just as outstanding from bottle. Although there are no Red Label Riservas from Giacosa in 2005, the wines display remarkable quality across the board. The rest of the line-up is solid as well. Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate # 179.