2001 Barolo Villero

The 2001 Barolo Villero is impeccable and also a bit more elusive. Today the 2001 comes across as a bit more medium-bodied than most of the other wines here. Dark cherries, crushed, flowers, spices and mint add layers of complexity. There is an understated beauty to the Villero that makes it quite classic and simply gorgeous. The Villero is rarely my favorite Barolo from Brovia, but there is no denying the 2001 is striking juice. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2021. Brovia’s 2001 Baroli are stunning. Such beauty. Such grace. It’s all there in these splendid, handcrafted wines. Vinification and aging are very much done along traditional lines, although Brovia prefers French rather than Slovenian oak for their casks. Readers who own these wines are going to be very, very happy. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchants, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

The estate's 2001 Barolo Villero takes things up a notch, with its deeper, richer nose of menthol, eucalyptus and sweet fruit. It shows plenty of dark fruit on a denser, more structured frame of excellent length that will naturally take longer to become fully expressive. It too should gracefully evolve to age 20 and maybe beyond.

Good medium red. Reticent aromas of currant and strawberry. Sweet on entry, then closed, even a bit tough, in the middle, hinting at a medicinal austerity. In comparison, the Rocche is a fragrant, feminine wine while this is distinctly muscular, powerfully structured Barolo. Finishes with youthfully painful tannins that will likely require a good decade of patience.