The 2004 Barolo Lazzarito Vigna La Delizia offers up scents of tar, smoke, spices, plums, licorice and tobacco on a mid-weight frame. The wine offers plenty of length and complexity in a relatively accessible, harmonious style. With time in the glass pretty notes of roses emerge adding further complexity. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2022. These 2005s are the finest Barolos I can recall tasting here. The estate seems to have toned down the super-ripe style of recent years and the results are striking. As I have written here before, Fontanafredda owns some of the most prized vineyards in all of Piedmont, and clearly has potential for making important wines of the highest level. Importer: Domaine Select, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799

The 2000 Barolo Lazzarito La Delizia, from one of the appellation’s most famous vineyards, is the most powerful, intense, and sustained wine of the series. The tar, truffles, and floral sensations are all present and all fully expressed in a dense, lengthy, and concentrated format. Slightly backward at the moment, it will provide much drinking pleasure from 2005 to 2020. Importer: Wine Wave, Jericho, NY; tel. (516) 433-1121

Fontanafredda’s top wine has long been made from the grapes of the Lazzarito and La Delizia vineyards, and in this vintage they have been used together. The 1999 Barolo Lazzarito, accordingly, is the most important of the series, explosive on the nose with very warm aromas of roses, tar, cinnamon, and chocolate. The palate is equally impressive, with a potent extract, superior length and continuity, significant mineral and road tar notes, and lush, sweet fruit. Fleshy, forceful, and focused, it is surprisingly open and expressive, but will drink best from 2007 to 2025.Importer: Wine Wave, Jericho, NY; tel. (516) 433-1121