2004 Barolo Ca'Mia

Impressively deep red. Knockout nose combines currant, black cherry, marzipan, menthol, tar, graphite and licorice. The palate offers an uncanny combination of sweetness and penetrating power, with brisk acidity framing and lifting the fine-grained flavors of black fruits, menthol and spices. The very long, slowly mounting finish conveys an impression of energy and great finesse, not to mention the structure for a graceful evolution in bottle. Lay this one down.

The 2004 Barolo Ca' Mia, from the Brea vineyard in Serralunga, is breathtaking. Vibrant black cherries, violets, tar, smoke, menthol and spices flow from this richly-textured, weighty Barolo. The wine turns more balsamic in the glass, with layers of aromas and flavors that continue to emerge. This is a firm but gorgeous traditionally-styled gem of a wine to cellar and enjoy over the following decades. Today the wine remains understandably reticent, but from time to time the inner core of perfumed fruit makes a brief appearance. It is without question one of the finest wines I have ever tasted from Brovia and is not to be missed. Will the 2004 Villero be even better?

The 2004 Barolo Ca- Mia, from the Brea vineyard in Serralunga, is breathtaking. Vibrant black cherries, violets, tar, smoke, menthol and spices flow from this richly-textured, weighty Barolo. The wine turns more balsamic in the glass, with layers of aromas and flavors that continue to emerge. This is a firm but gorgeous traditionally-styled gem of a wine to cellar and enjoy over the following decades. Today the wine remains understandably reticent, but from time to time the inner core of perfumed fruit makes a brief appearance. It is without question one of the finest wines I have ever tasted from Brovia and is not to be missed. Will the 2004 Villero be even better? Anticipated maturity: 2014-2029. This is a superb set of wines from Brovia. For reasons I can't quite understand Brovia remains incredibly overlooked considering the quality of the juice they put in the bottle. In recent years Brovia has been making terrific wines in an enlightened traditional style that is immensely appealing. The estate favors long fermentations. The single-vineyard Barolos are aged in French oak casks, while the Barolo (made from young vines) is aged in Slavonian oak. The resulting wines offer notable complexity and tons of site-specific detail, which makes them great choices for learning about some of Piedmont's top terroirs. Even better, prices have remained exceedingly fair in relative terms, although US importer Neal Rosenthal declined to provide pricing on the 2004 Barolos. Readers should be aware that Brovia has decided to hold back the release of the 2004 Barolo Villero as they believe the wine needs more time. These are some of my notes from a barrel sample of that wine I tasted in April 2007: -stunning .... sublime .... elegant.- Simply put, Brovia is on fire. Readers won't want to miss out on these exceptional wines. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchants, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990