2006 Barolo Villero

The 2006 Barolo Villero is a gorgeous, mid-weight Barolo. Scents of tobacco, licorice, mint and new leather lead to a core of expressive dark red fruit. There is an exotic quality to the 2006 that is hard to define with words. The 2006 is a super-classic Villero. It doesn’t have a ton of structure, instead it is a wine built on energy and length, both of which it has in spades. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2026. What I love most about the 2008s from Brovia – aside from their high overall quality – is the way they succeed in transmitting the unique personalities of their respective sites. This is a textbook vintage for Brovia. Readers who enjoy traditionally made Baroli will not want to miss these fabulous wines. Brovia bottled the 2008s earlier than normal, so it is quite possible the wines will merit even higher scores once they have settled down. I also tasted all of the 2009s and 2010s from barrel. The 2009s are promising, but the 2010s are shaping up to be epic. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchants, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

Like the Rocche, the 2006 Barolo Villero is also made from a vineyard in Castiglione Falletto, but it could not be more different. Here the fruit is deep, dark and sensual. While the Rocche tends towards suggestions of floral red berries, the Villero reveals plums, prune, spices and menthol intermingled with a host of other balsamic overtones.

Good medium red. Musky, wild nose combines tobacco, marzipan, menthol, cedar and mint. Then aromatic but tight on the palate, with lovely energy and lift to the flavors of sweet cherry, spices and cedar. Not as silky as the Rocche but a classic style of Villero. Finishes imploded, with a very firm tannic spine. This site is not far from the Rocche but here the soil is more compact and rich in clay and limestone, and the vines have a warmer southwest exposure.