2001 Vietti Barolo Riserva Villero

Readers will not want to miss the stunning 2001 Barolo Riserva Villero. It is an exceptional wine, with a huge nose of spices, menthol, eucalyptus, coffee beans, wet earth and ripe fruit. Although it remains quite backward it still shows plenty of dark fruit, with incredible sustain on the seamless palate and a gorgeous finish. I have only tasted this wine once, and that was nearly two years ago. If my notes are accurate, it may well deserve a higher score when it is released in 2008.

Readers will not want to miss the stunning 2001 Barolo Riserva Villero. It is an exceptional wine, with a huge nose of spices, menthol, eucalyptus, coffee beans, wet earth and ripe fruit. Although it remains quite backward, it still shows plenty of dark fruit, with incredible concentration on the seamless palate and a gorgeous finish. I have only tasted this wine once, and that was nearly two years ago. If my notes are accurate, it may well deserve a higher score when it is released in 2008. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2021. Importer: Remy Cointreau USA, New York, NY; tel. (212) 424-2204

(aged in a new Slavonian oak botte in 2001, as was the Rocche; this cru has only previously been offered in '97, '96, '90, '89, '85 and '82) Excellent deep red. Flamboyantly ripe aromas of cherry, raspberry, minerals, marzipan, roasted nuts and underbrush. Lush and superrich yet somehow elegant, with a captivating, three-dimensional tex ture. Wonderfully complex fruit flavors. The fabulous rising finish features cedary tannins, a whiff of peppermint and great persistence.