1995 Barbaresco Gallina

This deep ruby-colored wine possesses superb fruit, not a great deal of power or volume, but gorgeously layered, soft flavors that offer up gobs of cherry fruit intermixed with cedar, tobacco, smoke, and dried herbs. It finishes with no hard edges. Drink it over the next several years.||If the finest 1995 Barbarescos can be summarized with the words "soft, silky, low acid, hedonistic, and sexy, without much weight and structure, but plenty of fruit and charm," La Spinetta's offering is a classic of the vintage.||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 Wine Advocate.October, 1998

Good full color. Sexy, aromatic nose of plum, dried flowers, cedar, mint and oak, plus a whiff of exotic fruit. Velvety and seamless, with good middle-palate fat and adequate supporting acidity. A faint minty quality does not interfere with the wine's impression of sweetness. Finishes with dusty, slightly dry tannins and notes of spice, cedar and exotic fruit.