Nebbiolo enthusiasts will be charmed by the 2010 Barolo Vigna Santo Stefano Perno. This beautiful expression offers ample grace and elegance with focused sharpness and a carefully delineated feel. The bouquet reveals tones of wild berry, crushed mineral, white pepper and dried ginger. The wine's balsamic characteristics help to amplify its beauty and delicate intensity. Nuanced tones of rose petal and dried violets appear softly on the long finish.

Showing spicy and savory characteristics, the 2009 Barolo Vigna Santo Stefano Perno is a highly individualistic wine. Those pretty embellishments of cinnamon, cardamom and white pepper make for an excellent contrast to the wine's softer fruity and floral side. Barolo Vigna Santo Stefano Perno performs magically in the mouth with smooth tannins and extra intensity on the finish. Its persistence is impressive and meaningful.

The 2007 Barolo Santo Stefano di Perno rarely gets mentioned in a discussion of this great property but several recent vintages have been outstanding, which is the case with the 2007 as well. Sweet dark cherries, menthol, pine, minerals and flowers are some of the notes that flesh out in the glass. The 2007 is a striking Santo Stefano di Perno loaded with site specific detail but with an extra layer of richness that is the signature of the year. Clean, mineral notes frame the energetic, vibrant finish. This is every bit as fabulous as it was from barrel. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2027. This is a stellar showing from Mauro and Giuseppe Mascarello. The 2007 Baroli are stunning now that they are in bottle, but the Barberas are equally worthy of attention. As always, the style is very traditional, but in 2007 the steady warmth of the vintage has given the wines an extra dimension of fleshiness. The 2007 Monprivato in particular is shaping up to be another legendary Barolo from Mascarello.Importers: Doug Polaner, Polaner Selections, Mt. Kisco, NY; tel. (914) 244-0404, The Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA; tel. (707) 996-4484