2017 Barbaresco Muncagota Riserva

The 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Muncagota plays some of its best cards in terms of texture, offering silky tannins, firmness and a long-lasting veil of fruit flavors. Cassis, wild cherry, camphor ash, spice and iron ore are aromatic protagonists. This wine is lean and compact but very linear and focused. Like the other Riservas in this group of new releases, the wine is fermented in steel and aged in large oak casks for 32 months. 10,000 bottles were produced.

Barbaresco. Lustrous deep ruby. Brooding and a little rich with sweet cinnamon hints but still a little closed on the nose. Sour cherry and damson on the palate with a layer of fine, sandy tannins and succulent acidity. Can be approached now, the damson hints seems to suggest this won't age forever, so it will be at its peak in four to five years' time. (WS)

The 2017 Barbaresco Riserva Muncagota is one of the lighter wines in this range. Floral and medium in body, the 2017 gives the impression of a wine that will open earlier than some of the others. It, too, has pretty imposing tannins though, so a few years in bottle are advisable. Crushed flowers, sweet red cherry, mint and white pepper linger. (AG)