The 2008 Barolo Rocche dell’Annunziata/Torriglione impresses for its silky tannins and overall textural finesse. It shows striking mid-palate richness and gorgeous inner sweetness to match its beautifully delineated, expressive bouquet. Stylistically it is a bit on the masculine side, but very beautiful just the same. Layers of flavor build to the huge, dramatic finish. The Rocche presents a very classic aromatic and flavor profile backed up by serious heft and structure. It is the sweetest and most seductive of the 2008s. Readers will need to be especially patient, though. The Rocche shuts down hard in the glass. It won’t be an easy wine, but those who can wait will be handsomely rewarded. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2033. These wines from Roberto and Davide Voerzio represent a significant turning point stylistically. This is the first year in which most of the Baroli were aged partly in cask and partly in barrel, the same approach the estate used for its early wines, up to and including the 1993 vintage. The 2008s spent their first year in equal parts cask and barrique, and a second year in French oak barrels, just 20% new, a major change over the recent past. The exceptions are the Baroli Voerzio bottled only in magnums (Sarmassa and Vecchie Viti dei Capalot e delle Brunate), which were aged exclusively in French oak because of the tiny quantities of those wines. Roberto Voerzio describes 2008 as a year that was cold from start to finish. The wines are huge, tannic and likely to require quite a bit of patience. With time, though, the pedigree of the great Barolo vineyards simply can’t be denied. The best of Voerzio’s 2008s are pure magic. A Leonardo Lo Cascio Selection, Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620