2005 Barbera d'Alba Pozzo dell'Annunziata Riserva

Voerzio's 2005 Barbera d'Alba Riserva Vigneto Pozzo dell'Annunziata flows with layers of fresh, mineral-infused dark fruit. Sweet, round and impeccably pure, the wine offers exceptional balance and gorgeous overall harmony.

(for 1.5 liters; bottled entirely in magnums) Saturated ruby. Black fruits, violet and minerals on the nose; smells more like vintage port than barbera. Then hugely concentrated and brilliantly delineated, with the energy from strong acidity giving this wine almost painful intensity. Boasts great vinosity and finishes with explosive, spreading persistence. Fruit of steel here. This was Roberto Voerzio's first high-density vineyard and he has always bottled this wine in magnums to underscore that fact. The yield here was just over one pound per vine and the wine, though not bottled until 2008, is as primary as fruit juice. This really transcends the variety.

The 2005 Barbera d’Alba Riserva Pozzo dell’Annunziata offers up an array of mineral-infused dark red fruit, licorice, new leather and graphite in a supple, refined style that is hard to describe. The tannins are silky, and finessed to the maximum in this Barbera that truly transcends variety. Ideally, readers should give the 2005 Pozzo at least a few years in the cellar. A recent bottle of the 2000 was still impossibly fresh! Anticipated maturity: 2012-2025. I was blown away by these new releases from Roberto Voerzio. In particular, Voerzio has ratcheted up the quality of his entry-level wines in a meaningful way in 2006. To be sure, none of these wines is inexpensive, buy they truly deliver the goods, and then some. A Leonardo Lo Cascio Selection, Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620