2004 Barolo Vigna dei Dardi

The 2004 Barolo Vigna dei Dardi (Robert Chadderdon Selection) is a big, vibrant Barolo layered with sweet scents of dark fruit, sweet roses, minerals, licorice and menthol. Although the tannins remain somewhat unyielding they also show the refined, silky style so typical of the 2004s. The finish is firm and impeccably pure. This is another complex, multi-dimensional Barolo that is sure to thrill admirers of fine, cellar worthy Nebbiolo.

The 2004 Barolo Vigna dei Dardi is a generous, voluminous wine endowed with tons of ripe fruit, spices, licorice, roses, menthol and new leather. This medium to full-bodied offering boasts notable concentration and richness on the palate, with round silky tannins that caress the palate through to the long, polished close. Simply put, this is an exceptional bottle of Barolo! Anticipated maturity: 2014-2029. Alessandro Fantino continues to impress for the superb, pedigreed wines he turns out of his tiny, garage-like winery in the old town center of Monforte. Fantino honed his craft over the 18 years he worked with Bartolo Mascarello, and his wines share some aesthetics with those wines, although Fantino’s vineyards are in Bussia, rather than Barolo and La Morra, which naturally lends his wines the more balsamic, spiced profile that is typical of that site. As always, there are two versions of each of the Barolos. The Barolos brought in to the US by importer Robert Chadderdon are aged in cask and decidedly more traditional in style than those destined for other markets, which see French oak. The differences between the wines are most acute in less important vintages, while in top years, the differences are more about style than pure quality. Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 332-4999

The 2004 Barolo Bussia Cascina Dardi is a full-bodied, dense offering that flows onto the palate in stunning style, as waves of ripe dark red fruit intermingle with subtle notes of toasted oak. This bottling is aged in French oak, but in 2004 there is less difference in the two bottlings than is often the case, suggesting that most of what comes through is really about 2004 vintage character as captured by the Bussia vineyard. This is another drop-dead gorgeous wine from Alessandro Fantino.