What a pleasure it was to taste the 2001 Barbaresco Asili. The nose is expressive, with well-delineated notes of spices, flowers and tar that meld seamlessly onto an irresistible palate packed with vibrant layers of sweet ripe fruit with an open, generous personality. This wine is showing a wonderful sense of inner purity right now and will be even better in a few years, although its qualities are abundantly apparent even at this early stage. A great effort. An Azienda Agricola Falletto di Bruno Giacosa bottling. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2021. Importer: Winebow, Hohokus, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620

The 2001 Barbaresco Asili impresses for its gorgeous inner sweetness and inviting, round fruit. The 2001 is pure Asili, but it has begun to shut down mightily over the last 1-2 years. Still, it is impossible to miss the pedigree of what is in the glass. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2031. This is a fabulous set of wines from one of the great Giacosa vintages. Admittedly, opening ten year-old Giacosa Barbareschi and Baroli must be viewed as a purely academic excercise, as the wines are nowhere near ready. Readers will have to be especially patient, as most of these wines have entered a closed phase after having been surprisingly accessible early on. Importer: Folio Fine Wine Partners, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 256-2700

Bright plum and cedar character, with loads of underlying ripe fruit and rose. Full-bodied, with fine, silky tannins and a wonderful balance of fruit, cedar and plum. A subtle wine that needs time to develop in the bottle. Best after 2009. 1,100 cases made.??–JS??Region: Italy / Piedmont / Barbaresco Select to Add