The 2004 Barolo Campe has put on quite a bit of weight since it was bottled. This massive, powerful Barolo flows from the glass with its signature over-ripe aromatics and masses of dark fruit, tobacco, leather and spices. The tannins build impressively on the long finish. Buckle your chinstraps, this is not a wine for the timid. Ultimately, I am not sure there is enough fruit to stand up to the wine’s structural components over the long-term. In choosing to bottle riservas from his best vines (see below) Rivetti is running the risk of compromising his non-riserva bottlings. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024. Giorgio Rivetti has another set of very solid wines on his hands with his 2005 Barbarescos. The wines have always shown terrific balance and are just a notch or two below his 2004s.Importer: Indigenous Selection, Fort Lauderdale FL; tel. (954) 963-6251

Two years of aging in French oak help shape the overall quality of this beautiful wine. It opens with a luminous garnet color and segues to aromas of spice, anise seed, mineral and black fruit. This is a penetrating interpretation of Nebbiolo with firm tannins and a powerful finish.——M.L.(4/1/2009)—— 91