A dark-toned hue of ruby with violet highlights, the 2001 Barolo Cicala suggests new oak and spices on the nose, then opens to reveal a very complete and multi-dimensional wine that offers sensations of ripe dark cherries, minerals, menthol, tar, licorice and violets wrapped around a structured, masculine frame. A very fresh and long finish makes this a superbly well-balanced and beautiful wine. The Cicala cru gives wines of power and intensity owing to its poorer and dryer soils which contain more iron, as well as the vineyard’s south to south-east exposure. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2021. Importer: Domaine Select, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799

Medium red. Quintessential Barolo perfume: minerals, tobacco, underbrush, tar, licorice, gunflint. Then wonderfully rich and seamless in the mouth, with superb concentration and purity of flavor. Spicy red fruits emerged with aeration. Comes across, atypically, as less clenched in the early going than the Colonnello and strikingly complex from the outset, but this is nonetheless extremely young. Finishes with extremely suave tannins and vibrant lingering fruit. Great wine in the making.

Mature medium ruby with orange rim. Dusty, but complex and multilayered. Very classy spicy, dried cherry and hint of liquorice. Perfect balance between acidity, fruit concentration and floating, long-lasting tannin. The acidity gives a great tactile impression in combination with the tannin. Long and still to open up further. (WS)