Aromas of plums and dark berries with hazelnuts, bark and cocoa on offer, following through to a medium body with a juicy, fruit-forward character and chalky tannin structure. Textured and focused with freshness and balance. Drink now.

The Parusso 2018 Barbera d'Alba Ornati is a beautiful wine that blossoms before your senses with spectacular clarity. I opened this bottle several hours before and went back to check periodically. The evolution of all these wines from Parusso, including this one, is very pretty to behold. Dark fruit and ripe cherry segue to potting soil, dark prune and plum. The fruit feels well ripened, almost raisiny, with soft rich extraction. You can taste the richness that comes from the grape skins.

The 2017 Barbera d'Alba Ornati is a black and tarry wine with thick intensity and robust fruit flavors. Marco Parusso pushes the ripeness of his wines in the cool years, but you really feel that effort in the hot vintages, such as 2017. There are notes of dark sweetness here with syrupy flavors of crème de cassis and blackberry confit. Spice, tobacco and dark chocolate appear on the close.

Released in October 2017, this is the vintage you will find on the market now. The 2016 Barbera d'Alba Ornati shows impressive depth, a profound sense of dark fruit and extra succulence that gives it power and length. The 2017 vintage will be released at the end of this year and had not yet been bottled when I visited the estate. The 2016 growing season was mild and cool. This wine offers solid structure and an almost impenetrable, inky appearance. There is a hint of astringency on the close. The bouquet is bold and expressive, with layers of espresso bean, chocolate, pipe tobacco, cured meat, spice and campfire ash.

The 2015 Barbera d'Alba Ornati is a dark and thickly enriched red wine that never sees contact with oak. Like all of Parusso's wines, this Barbera is distinguished by its unique winemaking approach. Fruit is harvested late as Marco Parusso prefers a higher degree of alcohol in his wines if that means lower perceived acidity. Barbera is a highly acidic grape and taming that freshness is a challenge for many vintners in the area. This expression is round and succulent with almost-sweet flavors of blackberry confit and cherry liqueur. Vines are planted in white limestone soils and this adds to the overall elegance of the wine's perfumes.