2013 Pio Cesare Barbaresco DOCG, Piedmont

I love the blueberry, rose and strawberry aromas. Floral. Medium to full body, very fine tannins and a beautifully fruity finish. Such balance. Spent slightly less time in wooden cask and barrel than usual. Drink or hold.

93 points James Suckling jamessuckling.com

The 2013 Barbaresco sees fruit sourced from four separate vineyard sites across the appellation. The wine is aged in a combination of small and large oak barrel and is released one year later than its peers. Those extra 12 months of bottle aging have done a lot to improve the wine's integration and elegance. It also gives the wine more immediate appeal. In fact, this Barbaresco is ready to drink pretty much out of the gate. The mouthfeel is silky and soft and the bouquet offers a continuous stream of small fruit, cherry and licorice aromas.

You have to love the energy and dynamic thinking that comes out of this historic cellar located in the city center of Alba. Pio Cesare reflects the happy mood and the general euphoria coming out of Barolo and Barbaresco these past few years. The good spirits are linked to the ever-growing popularity of the region's excellent wines, winery owner Pio Boffa tells me with his daughter Federica (now working at the winery) and his nephew Cesare Benvenuto by his side. A wide smile spreads across his face. The Langhe is experiencing positive growth and this leads to creative thinking. For example, Pio Cesare has cleverly launched two new products born deep in the bowels of ancient tradition. They have launched a Vermouth and a Barolo Chinato, both based on grandma's secret recipe found stashed away for decades in a locked safe. These are two products that once enjoyed vibrant popularity here locally in the territory, but that have since faded from memory. Now, thanks to the global boom in mixed cocktails and spirits, the return of these products is appropriate and perfectly timed. I have reviewed both here, for fun. Besides the Vermouth and the Barolo Chinato, Pio Cesare boasts a line of eight table wines spread across an annual production of some 400,000 bottles. Besides the wines reviewed here, I had the opportunity to taste barrel samples from 2014, 2015 and 2016. I have sprinkled some of my impressions from this tasting in my comments on the upcoming vintages in this article introduction.

91 points Monica Larner robertparker.com