2006 Barolo Bricco Ambrogio

The 2006 Barolo Bricco Ambrogio is impressive for its sheer weight and concentration. This doesn’t have the complexity of Scavino’s top Barolos, but it does offer lovely roundness and impeccable balance in its dark cherry fruit. The 2006 looks to be the first wine that repays the trust Scavino has placed in this particular site. It will be interesting to follow the 2006 Bricco Ambrogio in bottle. Today it is certainly very promising. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2024. This is a wonderful set of new wines from Enrico Scavino and his daughters Enrica and Elisa. The dark, almost impenetrable color of the 1990s is gone and these Barolos now look like Barolos. To be sure, Scavino’s wines are still characterized by a plushness and opulence of fruit that sets them apart. Yet all of these 2006 Barolos reveal exceptional length, beautifully balanced tannins and gorgeous overall harmony. They should be on anyone’s short list of must-have wines. The Barolos are fermented in stainless steel, undergo malolactic fermentation in French oak and are subsequently aged for a year in French oak barrels followed by a second year in cask. Importer: Banville & Jones Wine Merchants, New York, NY; tel. (204) 294-4899

Deep red with ruby tones. Very ripe, almost liqueur-like aromas of black fruits and camphor. Sweet, fat, broad and very deep, but the wine's huge and slightly astringent tannins leave the mouth a bit clenched. Most impressive today for its big middle palate, this one will require serious cellaring.