Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco, Riserva Asili, 2015
An Asili Riserva would be young at seven years of age in any vintage, let alone 2015, but we have a championship to celebrate. The initial pour is primary, and even though the nose is all tar, iron and dark-red cherries, you get a sense of nuances and complexity. It stains the palate with tannins, but as is usually the case with great young Nebbiollo, it delivers its power and punch with rough grace.
I know it's young, I know it needs age or a few more hours to open up (this bottle will get air this evening and another bottle will get years in the cellar), but the first pour is gorgeous. Totally Old World, its initial power comes from fruit and earth, nothing is sandpapered. But that's just the first pour and the night is young. It develops notes of balsamic vinegar and dusty earth, as well as a complex, tasty, smart finish, but its strength and volume grow muter, as it recedes into a shell with more air.
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