The 1998 Barolo Vigneto Arborina is a great example of the year. Soft, open-knit and beautifully textured in the glass, the 1998 is a wine that stands out for its sense of proportion and overall harmony. Everything is in the right place. The sweet, perfumed finish only adds to the wine's considerable appeal. I was not a huge fan of the 1998 when it was first released, but over the last few years it has really grown on me. This is pure finesse.

Saturated ruby-red. Explosive, multidimensional nose melds vibrant red fruits, roast coffee, minerals and dark chocolate. Like liquid velvet in the mouth, but given shape by its firm mineral edge. A wave of red fruits saturates the palate. Finishes with great sweetness and palate-coating, even tannins that grew with aeration. This may well be tastable early but should gain in bottle for a decade or more.

The 1998 Barolo Arborina boasts a glorious perfume of overripe black cherries intertwined with Asian spices, new oak, and flowers. Layered, gorgeously concentrated, superbly balanced and seamless, with fabulous fruit, good underlying tannin, and a long, 40+ second finish, it can be drunk now and over the next 15 years. A Marc de Grazia Selection, various American importers, including Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300, Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700, and Estate Wines, Ltd., San Rafael, CA; tel. (415) 492-9411