2007 Barolo Villero

The 2007 Barolo Villero is all flowers, rose petals, spices and bright red fruit. This soft, sensual Barolo is laced with exquisite finesse to match its classy, poised personality. It is pure seduction. The 2007 is drinking well for such a young wine. It is already a touch forward and I don’t expect it will be especially long-lived by Brovia standards. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025. What I love most about the 2008s from Brovia – aside from their high overall quality – is the way they succeed in transmitting the unique personalities of their respective sites. This is a textbook vintage for Brovia. Readers who enjoy traditionally made Baroli will not want to miss these fabulous wines. Brovia bottled the 2008s earlier than normal, so it is quite possible the wines will merit even higher scores once they have settled down. I also tasted all of the 2009s and 2010s from barrel. The 2009s are promising, but the 2010s are shaping up to be epic. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchants, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

Medium red, less dark than the Rocche. Very ripe aromas of cherry, raspberry, marzipan, anise and dried flowers. Full, thick and sweet, showing much more baby fat than the 2008 version. Impressively fresh and long on the back end, with very suave tannins and captivating medicinal and wild mint notes. For all its thickness of texture, this is every bit as much Villero as it is vintage 2007. Sexy already but will be better with extended aging.

The 2007 Barolo Villero reveals tons of detail in its layers of sweet, mentholated fruit. Spices, licorice and myriad of other balsamic notes flow effortlessly from this intense yet inward, tightly-wound Barolo. The Villero will be bottled in 2011 along with the estate's other 2007 Baroli, but will spend an extra year in bottle prior to being released. It, too, is a hugely promising wine.