Montaribaldi, Barbaresco (Piedmont, Italy) 2012

This wine always seems excellent to me (often rivaling this producer’s flagship bottling from the Sori Montaribaldi vineyard), but in 2012 it was so outstanding that I had to re-taste it even after learning its identity.  It is irresistibly alluring in aromatic terms, with scents of sweet fruit and dried flowers, and the palate is even more engaging, with remarkable depth and length.  Given that it shows no overt wood and not the slightest whiff of alcoholic heat, this comes across as a wine of great class as well as great power, which is an exceedingly rare combination.