The 2013 Barbaresco Montefico Vecchie Viti is incredibly precise and finely sketched. Barbarescos from Montefico often are aggressive when they are young. That is far from the case here, even if the 2013 is best cellared for at least a few years. Sage, mint, tobacco, chalk, smoke, and crushed flowers add beguiling aromatic top notes to power through in a mid-weight, searing Barbaresco endowed with tremendous character. What a wine!

The tiny Montefico vineyard (measuring about a quarter of a hectare) was purchased in 1929, the year of Luca's grandmother was married. The property was a wedding gift to his grandmother from his great grandmother. The vines are 90 years old today and are located adjacent to vines farmed by Produttori del Barbaresco and the Giacosa family. The Montefico vineyard looks toward the town of Neive, showing more limestone in the soils compared to Asili or Pajè. As a result, the 2013 Barbaresco Montefico Vecchie Viti tends to offers more richness and structure compared to wines made from those neighboring sites, and the difference is quite striking. Perhaps the tannin is stronger in the Pajè, but this old-vine wine from Montefico (located within the township of Barbaresco) offers a more solid inner fiber with tightly integrated tannins that are less obvious, perhaps, but equally important to the power, volume and longevity of this wine. ML

Light-footed, this red is all about floral, wild berry, iron, leather, tobacco and woodsy aromas and flavors. The supple texture shows intensity and fine persistence on the lingering aftertaste. BS