Wines

92 Points! Intense cinnamon spice on the nose, together with vibrant aromas of cherry jelly and pressed flowers. Medium-bodied with a graceful attack, firm light tannins and crisp, brilliant and juicy acidity that packs a punch. Overall it’s crunchy in style. Licorice in the aftertaste. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! A complex, dynamic wine, the 2021 Barbaresco Montersino is redolent of sweet, dried cherry, incense, blood orange, cinnamon, sage and mint. It offers striking translucence and mid-weight structure to round out a super-classic profile. Bright acids extend the clean, precise finish. What a gorgeous wine this is. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

94 Points! A perfumed nose with cherries, wild strawberries, dried rose hips and pink peppercorns. Juicy and bright on the palate with crunchy tannins. Medium-bodied, tense and focused with a firm finish. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! The 2021 Barbaresco Ovello Vigna Loreto is powerful and explosive in the glass. A rush of wild red cherry, spice, kirsch, menthol, rose petals and incense races across the palate. Deep, savory and intensely mineral, the 2021 is magnificent. Readers will find a wine of stature and pure breeding. Superb. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

The 2021 Barbaresco Convivio is a blend of 2 vineyards:  Pajore in Treiso & Gallina in Neive.  They own 4 hectares of Pajore and about half a hectare in Gallina. Serious dirt, serious wine! At a great price...

92 Points! The 2006 Barbaresco Pora impresses for its crystalline purity and inner perfume. This is a rather potent Pora loaded with dark cherries, minerals and French oak that shows surprising richness and intensity for the vintage, most likely owing to the warm microclimate in this site. - Antonio Galloni, robertparker.com

93 Points! Though not that expressive today, this red is saturated with cherry, earth and iron flavors, accented with mint and rosemary. Firmly built, this persists on the aftertaste, with fresh cherry and berry notes. - Wine Spectator

93 Points! Overt and fruity, showing subtle roses and violets, red cherries and pomegranate. A hint of licorice and mint enhances complexity, with layered citrus flavors. Medium-bodied, this has crisp tension and firm, velvety tannins that turn dustier in the polished, chewy finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! Distinctive for its balsamic notes of green olive and juniper, with flavors of earth, plum, blackberry and iron. There’s breadth, and this red is balanced in a youthful way. Should knit together nicely in a few years. - Wine Spectator

94+ Points! The Cantina del Pino 2021 Barbaresco Albesani has an especially floral bouquet with dried rose petal and a savory touch of redwood or cedar. This wine carries a high 15% alcohol content, and although it remains relatively contained within the mid-weight fiber of the wine, it does stand out. It spends 24 months in botte grande and 18 months in bottle in order to capture the elegance of the fruit. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

97 Points! Earthy, meaty aromas and flavors lead off, with submerged notes of cherry and berry fruit. A dense matrix of tannins leaves a drying feel as this winds down on the white pepper–infused aftertaste. Still raw and unevolved, this is nonetheless long. - Wine Spectator

95 Points! This is the wine that best captures the spirit of Cantina del Pino. The 2021 Barbaresco Ovello draws its fruit from nearby the winery at 300 meters in elevation on limestone marl and silt. Aged in large oak casks for a long 24 months, it shows delicate fruit tones of cassis and dried cherry with blue flower and grilled herb. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

Simply put, our Nebbiolo discovery of the year! Paolo Veglio singlehandedly farms his 9 hectares of vineyards in Barbaresco, overlooking the Tanaro river. His neighbor? Gaja's Roncagliette, home to the legendary Sori Tildin and Costa Russi botltings from that legendary label. But, if we had our druthers, we'd take Paolo's 2021 Roccalini bottling from 60+ year-old vines over those wines, it is MAGICAL. 

92 Points! A bright ruby color, the 2021 Barbaresco is fresh and floral on the nose, with notes of fresh roses, raspberries, sweet herbs, and fresh peach. Medium-bodied and bright on the palate, with tangy citrus taking the lead, it offers finely coiled tannins, zesty acidity, and a chalky texture, then turns to more tangy cranberry-noted fruit, with a good bit of grip on the sides of the palate. This is a refreshing and energetic Barbaresco to drink over the next 10-12 years. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

96 Points! Superb...These are the best Barbarescos I have tasted from Dave Fletcher. It is not easy for an outsider to establish themselves in Piedmont, which makes these wines doubly impressive. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

97 Points! Lavender and sage with berries and dried strawberries, but so perfumed and subtle. Medium- to full-bodied with very fine tannins that are totally integrated with finesse and beauty at the end. Caresses your palate. - JamesSuckling.com  

96 Points! The 2020 Barbaresco Costa Russi is a classy, polished wine. Dark cherry, plum, mocha, new leather, licorice and lavender all take shape. As always, Costa Russi is the most supple and charming of the Gaja Barbarescos in the early going. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

95 Points! The Gaja 2020 Barbaresco Costa Russi has a rose and floral note that emerges at first, and it doesn't have the heavy dark earth or cured leather aromas that we get in the Barbaresco. This wine is focused on fruit tones, bright ones, and those nuances are juicy, generous and long. There's more youth in this wine, and the tannins are extremely fine and silky. Count on this wine to improve with age. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

94 Points! The 2021 Barbaresco is exquisite. Bright and delineated, with tons of energy, the 2021 bristles with saline-infused energy. Red berry fruit, blood orange, chalk, mint and white pepper lend tons of energy to this deceptively mid-weight, nervy young Barbaresco. Vineyard sites are Ovello, Cole and Loreto. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

94 Points! One of the appellation's classic wines, the Tenute Cisa Asinari dei Marchesi di Gresy 2020 Barbaresco Martinenga delivers a soft entry to the palate with subtle cherry and sweet raspberry. Those fruit tones are laced with dusty mineral and white licorice. The wine delivers medium-weight texture, but the finish remains long and polished over time. The tannins will soften with a few more years of bottle age. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

Terrific value from the famed Starderi Cru in Neive...

95 Points! The 2020 Barbaresco boasts an ample set of aromas with wild cherry, blue flower, sweet spice and crushed limestone. As always, the wine paints an exciting and authentic portrait of Nebbiolo, albeit with a little more richness and texture in this vintage. This is especially true in terms of the palate, where the wine offers mid-weight intensity with melting tannins. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

94 Points! Still vinous, with youthful strawberry notes, rosebud, violet, liquorice and a whiff of cinnamon. Savoury and floral on the palate which is dominated by firm, crisp, long acidity and velvety ripe tannins of an amazing quality; perhaps just a bit stern on the aftertaste. Amazing Barbaresco. Here we have the cooperative of Barbaresco and one known as producing some of the best-priced quality wines in all of Langhe. - Decanter Magazine

94 Points! The straight 2022 Barbaresco from Produttori del Barbaresco is fragrant and refined, with aromas of blue flower, red berry, citrus and a balsamic whiff of eucalyptus. Surprisingly fresh and juicy for the hot, extremely dry vintage, it boasts flavors of tart red cherry, orange zest and star anise alongside taut, refined tannins that leave some grip on the finish. - Kerin O'Keefe

94 Points! The Produttori del Barbaresco 2022 Barbaresco records a relatively high 15% alcohol content, yet the wine remains happily elegant and poised throughout. Small berry aromas of cassis and wild cherry are framed by expressive floral notes of lilac and earthy iris root, which feel especially vivid in this youthful Nebbiolo. The wine delivers immediate depth and finesse, balancing the natural richness of the warm vintage with the precision and freshness that define the cooperative's style. Fermented in stainless steel and aged in large oak botti, this release shows impressive harmony and varietal purity... - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

94 Points! Bright and overtly fruity, this is full of intoxicating violets, cinnamon, blood oranges and black cherries, expressing mint and balsamic depth. Full-bodied with a soft, smooth attack, dusty yet velvety tannins and brilliant acidity. The chocolaty finish shows licorice and a mouth-coating texture. Delicious and balanced. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! The 2022 Barbaresco is a pretty rich, heady wine. Dark cherry/plum fruit, cloves, licorice and mocha build as the 2022 shows off its considerable depth. This is one of the few 2022s that is quite resonant texturally. The aromatics could be more lifted and the tannins could use a bit more polish, but those qualities were next to impossible to come by in 2022. The inclusion of some juice from Riserva lots is a great help. All things considered, this is a stellar showing. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous

95+ Points! A reflective, saturated ruby red color, the 2021 Barbaresco Riserva Pora opens with ripe aromas of raspberry, black cherry cordial, toasted cedar, and forest earth. Medium-bodied, it saturates the palate with plush fruit and an approachable texture while maintaining good length. It feels like one of the more immediate wines of the range in this noble vintage, although the oak will need time to fully integrate on the nose. - Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com

95 Points! Offering a mix of cherry, raspberry, strawberry, floral and mineral aromas and flavors, this red starts out round and open before dense, chalky tannins emerge. This almost feels approachable now yet should develop well over time. The lasting impression is of ripe fruit. - Wine Spectator

95 Points! Classic and intense yet fresh, showing sweet-violet and cherry-pit aromas, this is slightly mineral and savory with graceful balsamic depth. Medium-bodied and approachable with velvety tannins wrapped in dried flowers, tight yet interwoven in the very long finish. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! The 2021 Barbaresco Riserva Pora is a fabulous introduction to the singlevineyard wines in this range. Pliant and resonant in the glass, the 2021 impresses with its solid core of fruit and exceptional balance. A wine of depth and structure, the Pora is compelling. Wild cherry fruit, spice, new leather and blood orange fill out the layers. This is an especially fine Pora. There is so much to look forward to. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous