2009 Barolo Ginestra Casa Mate

(from clay and limestone soil; picked seven to ten days later than the Gavarini Chiniera, according to Gianluca Grasso): Good medium red. Deep, brooding nose offers currant, cherry and spices. Plush, broad and sweet on the palate but less open to inspection today than the Gavarini. With aeration, flavors of redcurrant, tobacco and mocha emerged. Big but nicely distributed tannins arrive late, giving the finish excellent length. The Grassos do about 25 days of total maceration, including two weeks with a submerged cap, but keep the fermentation temperature below 28 degrees C (and usually no higher than 26) in order to make more elegant wines.

The 2009 Barolo Ginestra Vigna Casa Mate come from 35-year-old vines planted at 350 meters above sea level on mixed sand and clay soils. Gianluca says this is always the first vineyard to flower each year. This expression is without a doubt the more masculine of the two, with bold lines filled tight with black fruit, plum, licorice, tobacco and leather. However, the wine is not all muscle and brawn. It, too, offers a beautiful floral note of pressed red rose that lingers long on the finish. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2035. Elio Grasso and his son Gianluca have created one of the finest vineyards and wineries in the Langhe today. The energy shared by this dynamic father and son team demonstrates that no ambition is too far stretched or lofty - as long as there is a will for hard work. Investments made over the last decade include a state-of-the-art winery complete with an underground cellar, buried 45 meters below the vineyards. Recently, Gianluca says his passion has turned to vineyard work: "The point is not being the greatest wine producer. It is to be the greatest producer of grapes." Various American importers, including: Martin Scott Wines, Little Neck, NY; tel. (516) 327-0808; Langdon Shiverick Imports, Cleveland, OH; tel. (213) 483-5900; Classic Wine Imports, Norwood, MA; tel. (800) 862-4585; Admirality Beverage Co., Portland, OR; tel. (503) 265-3555

Grasso's 2009 Barolo Ginestra Vigna Casa Matè is a bit, richer, deeper and darker than the Gavarini, but the differences between the wines aren't as marked as they usually are. That is the essence 2009. Dark cherries, plums, menthol and spices flesh out on the broad, richly textured finish. As good as this is – and the Ginestra is quite good – in 2009 the expression of site is more muted than is typically the case.