2000 La Spinetta Barbaresco Starderi—Rich saturated ruby. A full-throttle wine, packed with over-ripe, almost too-sweet fruit, sensations of truffles, cherries in liqueur, spices, stewed plums, licorice and roasted coffee beans. This is a wine of great length and persistence, although stylistically I much preferred the 2001. 91 points/drink now- 2014 A visit to Giorgio Rivetti’s new estate at Grinzane Cavour provided an opportunity to taste through some of the 2003s as well as several finished wines. The winery is a large, open barn-like structure with the latest high-tech winemaking equipment. The tasting room is in spacious loft space that provides a panoramic view of the Nebbiolo vines. Rivetti is using the facility at Grinzane to produce his new Barolo, Campe (reviewed on page 37) as well as his three Barbaresco wines. Rivetti and French enologist Stephano Mazzetta make richly textured modern-styled wines that at their best offer tremendous opulence and seamlessness. Yields are very low and the wines feature a lavish use of new oak, as all the wines see 100% new oak each year. I tasted all of the wines in this section at the estate, with the exception of the Barbarescos that were part of a blind tastings of the 2000 and 2001 vintages. The wines are listed in descending chronological order

Full red. Cool, precise, highly perfumed nose combines dried flowers, truffle and mint. Wonderfully concentrated and dense, with superb clarity of flavor and lovely incipient inner-mouth perfume. If the Gallina is a more feminine style, this is the big boy of the cellar. Hugely sweet and impressive; a major mouthful of wine. Slow-mounting, spicy finish goes on and on, with the sweet fruit outlasting the firm but fine tannins. A great showing.

The 2000 Barbaresco Starderi, as in the past, isa potent offering. The intense nose is traditional, with the expressive notes of tar, anisette, and kirsch, and the powerful tarry, mineral flavors are deep and delineated, with an important acceleration and expansion, a rise in the volume and richness from the mid-palate right through to the finish. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2020. 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