"Macerated cherry and raspberry flavors combine with black pepper, menthol and iron notes in this elegant yet well-structured version. Well-endowed tannins define the finish, putting the brakes on the fruity and savory elements for now. The long, vigorous aftertaste reveals this red’s potential. "

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"The 2020 Barbaresco Asili Riserva is a sensual beauty. Dark and expansive on the palate, with gorgeous resonance, the 2020 is seriously impressive. Wild cherry, lavender, cedar, new leather and spice build effortlessly in the glass as the 2020 works its way through the mid-palate and into its beautifully reverberating finish. The 2020 is quite simply one of the very finest Red Labels in some time."

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"The 2020 Barbaresco Riserva Asili was aged for 20 months in barrel followed by two years in bottle. In this vintage (as in 2021), the weather conditions and the maturity of the grapes were evident in the vineyard, indicating that they would produce the red label Riserva bottling this year. (In other vintages, that decision has been made in the cellar.) In the glass, the wine displays a medium red transparent hue and offers fantastic layers of incense, Asian spices, fresh currants, and raspberries. The palate is elegant and refined, with a long, graceful feel. It’s very long on the palate, with a balanced, fruity feel, and its perfume lasts on the finish, featuring notes of apricot perfume. It's gorgeous already, but I would stash this away and check back in a few years. It’s deceptively approachable now but has the structure to age over the coming decades. This vintage reminds Bruna Giacosa of 2000, a vintage marked with similar elegance."

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"Bottled in 2022, the Asili Riserva slowly divulges plum blossoms, cherry, crushed allspice and a touch of incense. The palate is effortlessly balanced with the silkiest mouthfeel and extraordinary freshness. I love the dark earthiness that emerges with a faint touch of tar. The tannins are tightly knit, demonstrating an elegance that will stand the test of time. Like several of her peers, Bruna Giacosa compares 2020 to 2000, describing the pair as more elegant than the structured vintages of 2021 and 2001 which have their own resemblance. She voices her preference for the former duo."

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"Packaged with the red label, the Bruno Giacosa 2020 Barbaresco Riserva Asili was a little shy when I tasted it, but it clearly has the runway for long cellar aging. It opens to a medium-plus texture with a darker hue of ruby red. The tannins are elegant and fine, and although this was a warm vintage, the fruit feels very fresh and taut. You get good structure and firm tannins to carry it over the long term."

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"Gorgeous perfumes of flowers and dark fruit with orange peel. Full-bodied with plenty of fruit and firm and integrated tannins. Thick silky texture. Fresh in the finish. It goes on for minutes. Available in 2025. Best after 2029."

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"This is rich and dense, yet also racy, evoking cherry, plum, tar and eucalyptus flavors, with a thread of mineral underscoring it all. Shows fine length and intensity, and there's ample fruit to match the spine of tannins, but this just needs time. Best from 2025 through 2045. 185 cases imported."

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"Packaged in its distinctive red label, the 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Asili is a rich and profound wine with incredible depth and dimension. Bruna Giacosa skipped over the 2015 vintage because she felt that the fruit was not poised for long aging. From the 2014 vintage, we jump to this 2016 expression, a wine that Bruna says reminds her of the epic 2001 and 2004 vintages. She also loves the 2017 vintage, which I look forward to tasting next year. This wine is incredibly precise and sharp; however, the volume and generous fruit weight promises a long aging future. The aromas veer toward red berry, cherry and cassis, and the darker black fruit tones that you might expect are less prominent in the Asili. The wine majestically captures the elegance and the power of this iconic vintage. Production is 11,000 bottles, 1,500 magnums and 200 Jeroboams."

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"This is really muscular and really powerful. It is amazing. Full-bodied, yet tight and super structured with incredible power and super toned tannins. It goes on for minutes. The greatest Barbaresco ever from here? I love the strength with fruit finesse. I don’t remember tasting a young Asili like this. Give this a lot of time to come together. One for the cellar. Try after 2026."

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"The 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Asili is soft, layered and seductive, as wines from this site tend to be. Silky tannins and lifted aromatics lend finesse to this inviting Barbaresco from Giacosa. All the elements are very nicely balanced. I very much like elegance here, even if the inner sweetness Bruno Giacosa prized so much in his wines when he was alive, never materializes."

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"Fluid and juicy, with savory notes of menthol and juniper, matched to the cherry and currant fruit. Underlined by a mineral element, this features a serious whack of tannins on the finish, yet the lasting impression is of sweet, ripe cherry and berry flavors. Wonderful length. Best from 2022 through 2045. From Italy."

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"#8 Italian Wines of 2018 & #34 Top Wines of 2018 - Incredible aromas of violets, roses and blue fruits. So perfumed. Never smelled a wine like this before. Full body, perfectly integrated tannins and bright, vivid acidity. Extremely long and endless. A seamless and great one. An evocative wine that makes you think. Needs three to five years of bottle age on release. Unique red. Available in 2019."

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"This wine was made in 2011 and 2012 but not in 2013. The 2014 Barolo Falletto (white label) is fascinating to taste right after the Barbaresco Riserva Asili from the same vintage. There is no doubting the extra muscle mass and power that is obtained in the Barolo appellation, and from the Serralunga d’Alba township specifically. This dramatic Barolo delivers darkness and density. It shows a beautiful appearance with faint highlights of dark ruby that add a subtle sparkle. At this point in its drinking cycle, the wine shows all the characteristic traits of its youth. This means it is more closed and rigid at present. That nervous tightness needs to be factored in when assessing the cellar longevity of this vintage. Hints of the wine’s inner complexity, sheer determination and textural fortitude are already bubbling up from deep inside this firmly layered Nebbiolo. I wanted to mention the tightness of the tannins now. These will undoubtedly serve to carry this wine forward over the coming decades."

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"Packaged in its distinctive red label (red is for Riserva), the 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Asili represents a tremendous effort in a challenging but ultimately very rewarding vintage. This wine will be released in February 2019. The previous edition was 2011, and Bruna Giacosa tells me that it will be produced in 2016 and possibly 2017—although this has not yet been officially confirmed. In a normal vintage, production is 11,000 bottles strong, but because of reduced yields in 2014 we can expect some 8,000 bottles instead. Growing conditions in 2014 were cause for concern up until the end of August because of humidity and below average temperatures. Those conditions changed suddenly in the nick of time, bringing strong sunshine and warmth during the final stage of grape ripening. Ultimately, 2014 proved to be a long growing season with healthy fruit in reduced volume. The Rabajà cru sometimes shows a harder edge with more mineral definition. Asili, in comparison, offers gorgeous intensity and profound depth. This Riserva shows seamless integration of wild fruit, blue flower, spice, balsam herb and pencil shaving. This is a complete and complex expression with an enduring sense of dimension and structure. I can’t wait to taste this wine one day in the far future when it is further along on its promising evolutionary track."

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"The 2011 Barbaresco Riserva Asili (red label) is a full and generous wine that wraps thickly over the senses. The bouquet shows enormous depth and power with a generous presentation of dark fruit, cassis, balsam herb, cola, licorice, tar and lingering smoke. There is an evident sense of fruit ripeness here that helps to build momentum and staying power. Clay soils in the vineyard site have also helped to contribute to the heft and full-bodied nature of this special wine. The finish is characterized by mild acidity and lingering flavors of ripe fruit. The opulent fruit of the wine recalls the 2007 and 2004 vintages. "

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"An elegant, sinewy style, with classic Nebbiolo character, exuding floral, cherry, strawberry, leather and mineral flavors. The lingering tobacco finish gets a boost from the light burr of tannins. Remains juicy and long. Best from 2017 through 2032. 300 cases imported."

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"This is an incredible wine that reminds me of the perfect 2000 Barolo Rocche de Falletto. Flowers, spices, leather and animals. Decadent. Dried mushrooms. Then changes to Japanese ginger and lemon peel. Full-bodied but refined and so long. It has layers of fruit and power. So refined. Ripe and intense. Perfect balance and harmony. It will be released in 2016."

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"Good medium red.  Crushed cherry, raspberry, rose petal and botanical herbs on the tangy nose and palate.  If the Santo Stefano is a more masculine, underbrushy style of nebbiolo, this one is a perfume bomb in the mouth, incredibly silky and fine-grained but with outstanding sappy tang to leaven its thickness.  Most impressive today on the slowly mounting, elegant, mouth-saturating back end, which features big but fine-grained tannins and outstanding rising length.  A real essence of nebbiolo."

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