The estate’s 2001 Barolo Riserva is a fairly accessible wine considering the vintage. Sweet notes of red cherries, spices and toasted oak are woven together with considerable appeal as this soft-textured, generous wine flows from the glass. Early notes of leather, dried fruit, cocoa and cedar suggest this won’t be an especially long-lived wine. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2016. In one of the more bizarre and ugly capitulations I have seen recently in Piedmont, bitter family struggles have resulted in Marchesi di Barolo losing future access to their most prized vineyard, the holdings in Cannubi that are the source of the estate’s flagship wine. Importer: Palm Bay International, Boca Raton, FL; tel. (561) 362-9642

Very pretty, with subtle aromas of flowers and blackberry. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a long aftertaste of coffee, berry, black licorice and tar. Another year or two of bottle age will polish the wine. Best after 2008. 1,500 cases made, 300 cases imported.??–JS??Region: Italy / Piedmont / Barolo Select to Add