2019 Piero Busso Gallina Barbaresco, Piedmont

The 2018 Barbaresco Gallina is the most open-knit and forward of the three 2018 Barbarescos I tasted. Ripeness feels a bit pushed here, but it works nicely within the style of the wine. Super-ripe red cherry, sweet pipe tobacco, orange peel and exotic spice overtones build effortlessly as the Gallina shows off its racy, flamboyant personality.

91 points Antonio Galloni vinous.com

Purchased in 1999, the domaine farms 1.3 hectares of what is possibly the best-known MGA of Neive (made famous by Bruno Giacosa). Sitting at 240 metres altitude on a low and twisting ridge opposite the Albesani Cru, Busso’s vines are south-west exposed and face the river. It’s a windy microclimate despite not being particularly high. The soil here is the limestone-rich Sant’Agata marl with sandy and calcareous layers. In 2015 Piero began to separate his oldest vines here (planted in the 1950s), for a separate old vine bottling (see below). The vines for this wine were planted between 25 and 50 years ago. Aging is the same as for the other crus (two years in Slavonian oak casks), but the wine is kept an extra year in bottle before release.
 
This is clearly the most hedonistic Barbaresco in the line-up, with waves of plush fruit and very fine tannins. It offers, deep, plummy characters and all kinds of spice (cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, etc.) and a lingering, sappy close. An excellent 2018.