Vite Colte ‘Spezie’, Barbaresco Riserva DOCG, Italy 2010 JL68856326

Once in a while fate (or a far-sighted proprietor) delivers a wine to our judges in mature style, so that we can suddenly appreciate in the glass before us all of those qualities which normally we only sketch out in excited anticipation. So it is with this richly constituted Barbaresco Riserva from the very fine 2010 vintage. It’s still dark and sombre in colour, though its hues are now beginning to brick a little. The aromas are resonant, expansive, lusciously ripe and now melting down into an almost truffley harmony. On the palate, meanwhile, the wine remains sturdily built and lushly fruited, but yet again time has brought an inner softness; all the flavoury threads are now gathered and woven together. No need to hurry, either, but if you want the pleasures of age, find them here.

97 Pts Decanter – Best in Show Wine Award

Dark plums, cherry liqueur and lots of cinnamon and spices, but also a fresher, herbal thread with heather and bracken. Full-bodied and dense on the palate, which frames layers of plush red fruit against very muscular tannins. Long and very chewy on the finish. This flavorful, old release still needs time. Drink from 2023.

95 PtsJames Suckling