2017 Barbaresco Martinenga Camp Gros Riserva

The 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Camp Gros Martinenga is a pretty dense, potent wine. That's probably a good thing for its long-term potential, although there is no getting around how hard the wine is to taste today. Even so, the 2017 shows terrific freshness for such a torrid year. Orange zest, cinnamon and dried rose petal build into the tense, classically austere finish. The 2017 is a gorgeous Camp Gros.

Jewel-coloured ruby, this is classic Barberesco in its weight and acidity, where things start off with mandarin peel, lemongrass and redcurrant before sweeter red cherry, pomegranate and raspberry fruit comes in. Give it time for the liqourice, tar, dried herbs and grilled oak notes to arrive. This has structure and depth, but it is brushed with silk. Deceptive in its tannic structure, this could be drunk now with carafing, but will clearly age further, supremely food-friendly. A mix of French oak barrels for 12 months and Slovenian oak casks for 16 months ageing, then a further 26 months in bottle before release, five years after harvest. The entirety of the historic 12-hectare Martinenga vineyard is owned by Marchesi di Gresy, with Camp Gros a south-east facing parcel of old vine Nebbiolo, being sold through the Bordeaux system for the first time in 202, winemaker Matteo Sasso.

The freshness and firmness of this young 2017 Barbaresco is impressive. The wine is tight and reserved, but suggests greatness, offering cherries, dark cherries, dried flowers and crushed stones. Intense tannins. This is a wine for the cellar. Give it five or six years of bottle age. Try after 2027.