The 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Pora is a dark, sensual beauty. Deeply spiced and balsamic, with tremendous textural richness, the Pora is utterly beguiling. I can't remember a Pora with this much depth, textural resonance and brooding intensity. The 2014 needs at least a few years to be at its best, but it is superb even in the early going. I won't be surprised if the 2014 turns out to be better than this note suggests.

When I tasted this wine, it had just completed its three-year aging time in oak and was about to be bottled. This preview tasting of the 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Pora reveals dark fruit intensity with bright aromas of blackberry and wild cherry. There is a strong underlying signature of primary fruit in this mild vintage with a cool summer and warm autumn. The wine also shows distinct floral tones of lavender and violet. The 2013 vintage has a tighter tannic structured compared to this wine, but the 2014 offers a vibrant, sweet and lighthearted quality of fruit instead.