This 2011 Barbaresco Albesani Vigna Santo Stefano is on the market since February and has had ample time to flesh out over the last six months of bottle aging. The wine opens to a light garnet color and immediate fruit tones that veer towards the jammy side with sun-dried strawberry and raspberry. It shows a good level of freshness and acidity to counter the warmer tendencies of the bouquet. The tannins deliver a smooth, silky quality and the wine starts to show pretty aromas of wet earth and black truffle after a few minutes in the glass. Drink: 2015-2030. It has been famously reported now that Bruno Giacosa did not make wine in 2010. If you ask his daughter Bruna why this legendary estate would skip such a promising vintage, her reply is simple: “Sometimes you need to follow your heart.” Like the 2006 vintage that was passed over because it marked the same year that Bruno suffered a massive stroke, the family has similarly private reasons for wanting to skip directly from 2009 to 2011. It’s a hole they chose to leave. In other news, the Giacosa family bought a tiny parcel in Rabaja (half an hectare) and plans to release 4,000 bottles of the inaugural vintage in 2013. Importer: Folio Fine Wine Partners, www.foliowine.com

The 2009 Barbaresco Santo Stefano is a big improvement over the 2008, although it still isn’t up to the level of the best wines that emerged from this historic cellar in Neive over the last four decades. Crushed flowers, tobacco, cloves and sweet dried cherries are all woven together nicely. Overall, the 2009 is a pretty Barbaresco with lovely mid-palate pliancy and fine overall harmony. The balance of fruit, acidity and tannin is solid. Stylistically, it is a fairly light to medium-bodied wine with much more near-term appeal than potential for aging. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019. Bruno Giacosa fans will be thrilled to learn of the return of long-time winemaker Dante Scaglione to this historic property. Scaglione spent 16 years alongside Giacosa and is now back with the winery as a consultant, which bodes well for the future. The first vintage Scaglione oversaw in his new role is 2011. Until then, readers will have to accept the fact that the current releases aren’t up to Giacosa’s historical standards. Few, if any, Piemonte producers are more heavily represented in my cellar than Bruno Giacosa. I still own a few bottles of the mythical 1964 Barbaresco Santo Stefano Riserva, which remains one of the greatest wines I have ever tasted. Count me among those who hope this iconic winery can quickly return to the level of their glory days. Importer: Folio Fine Wine Partners, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 256-2700

The 2008 Barbaresco Santo Stefano has the same color the 1987 had when it was 20 years old, which is to say almost rose colored. I don’t think the 2008 will make its 20th birthday, however. This is a light, translucent, fleeting wine with very little fruit and body. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2016. I suppose it was bound to happen. Few wineries have been through as much stress in the last few years as Giacosa, and the wines have finally begun to show some cracks. Although he is doing better today, Bruno Giacosa’s health issues and subsequent recovery put a big strain on the winery. The departure of long-time oenologist Dante Scaglione in 2008 was another blow. Scaglione has since returned to the winery as a consultant, which is an encouraging development. Quite simply, the 2008 Barbareschi are the weakest wines I have ever tasted from Bruno Giacosa. The fact that some of Giacosa’s recent releases from his negociant operation are stronger than the wines made from estate fruit suggests some of the issues may be in the vineyards. Regardless, there is no other way to view these wines than as major disappointments. In November I will host my annual White Truffle Charity Dinner to benefit The Mt. Sinai Hospital. On that night I will open my last remaining bottles of Giacosa’s 1964 Barbaresco Riserva Santo Stefano and 1967 Barbaresco Riserva Asili (among other rarities) and raise a toast to the towering genius of Neive, with the sincerest wish that these new releases, and the 2008 Barbareschi in particular, represent what will ultimately be viewed as a small blemish on an otherwise extraordinary career.A Leonardo Lo Cascio Selection, Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620. As of January 1, 2012, Giacosa’s new US importer will be Folio Fine Wine Partners, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 256-2700