Bruno Giacosa's 2011 Barbaresco Albesani Vigna Santo Stefano is gorgeous. Rose petals, sweet red berries and mint are some of the notes that waft from the glass. Silky, polished and quite striking, the 2011 is already open and super-expressive. Considering the warm, precocious vintage and the southern exposure of Santo Stefano, I expected a bigger, more powerful wine, but the 2011 is all about finesse. My impression is that the 2011 will offer its best drinking earlier rather than later. There is plenty to like here.

– vinous.com, October 2014

A wine with silky tannins and pretty bright fruit of strawberries and sliced plums and hints of flowers. Full body, fine tannins and a wonderful clarity. Lovely length of fruit. This is the last vintage of Santo Stefano for Giacosa after many decades of success. Needs at least four or five years to soften. Try in 2016.

– jamessuckling.com, January 2015

Medium with a hint of amber. Highly complex, scented nose combines red plum, cherry, strawberry, clove, medicinal herbs and a hint of orange zest. Intensely flavored, juicy and tightly wound, with lovely cut and definition to the red fruit and spice flavors. Very concentrated, tactile wine whose firm tannic spine will require at least several years of cellaring. Finishes with terrific lift.

–International Wine Cellar, November 2013

This 2011 Barbaresco Albesani Vigna Santo Stefano is on the market since February and has had ample time to flesh out over the last six months of bottle aging. The wine opens to a light garnet color and immediate fruit tones that veer towards the jammy side with sun-dried strawberry and raspberry. It shows a good level of freshness and acidity to counter the warmer tendencies of the bouquet. The tannins deliver a smooth, silky quality and the wine starts to show pretty aromas of wet earth and black truffle after a few minutes in the glass. Drink: 2015-2030. It has been famously reported now that Bruno Giacosa did not make wine in 2010. If you ask his daughter Bruna why this legendary estate would skip such a promising vintage, her reply is simple: “Sometimes you need to follow your heart.” Like the 2006 vintage that was passed over because it marked the same year that Bruno suffered a massive stroke, the family has similarly private reasons for wanting to skip directly from 2009 to 2011. It’s a hole they chose to leave. In other news, the Giacosa family bought a tiny parcel in Rabaja (half an hectare) and plans to release 4,000 bottles of the inaugural vintage in 2013. Importer: Folio Fine Wine Partners, www.foliowine.com

This 2011 Barbaresco Albesani Vigna Santo Stefano is on the market since February and has had ample time to flesh out over the last six months of bottle aging. The wine opens to a light garnet color and immediate fruit tones that veer towards the jammy side with sun-dried strawberry and raspberry. It shows a good level of freshness and acidity to counter the warmer tendencies of the bouquet. The tannins deliver a smooth, silky quality and the wine starts to show pretty aromas of wet earth and black truffle after a few minutes in the glass. Drink: 2015-2030. (Monica Larner)

– The Wine Advocate#213, June 2014