The 2004 Barolo Arborina is a surprisingly super-ripe, concentrated and soft-textured wine loaded with sweet fruit. It offers outstanding length and ripe tannins in a very seductive style of Barolo. Three bottles have shown some degree of variation, suggesting the wine is still acquiring its balance after its bottling this summer. Altare says the very low levels of SO2 in the Barolo Arborina probably contribute to the wine’s “flatness.” I didn’t pick up on a flat quality in the wine, but the Arborina is decidedly less fresh and vibrant than the two other 2004 Barolos. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2022. With his characteristic modesty Elio Altare told me 2005 was not a great vintage for him. “The harvest had to be timed perfectly, if we had waited just a few more hours the fruit would have been over-ripe,” says Altare. “2004, on the other hand was perfect. We were able to do several passes in the vineyards, picking each bunch at the optimal level of ripeness. In the cellar we did an absolute minimum of racking. The wines literally made themselves.” 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

Red-ruby. Raspberry and strawberry fruit aromas are complicated by musky Cuban tobacco and earth; sexy and soil-driven. Broad, lush and sweet; a distinctly horizontal wine that can't quite match the Brunate for definition or grip but finishes with superb persistence. Classically dry, underbrushy nebbiolo that will need time to evolve in bottle.