La Spinetta Castagnole Delle Lanze Barbera d'Asti Ca' di Pian 2004

Bright ruby-red. Blackberry and cassis aromas display a liqueur-like ripeness. A rich, concentrated fruit bomb in the mouth, with concentrated flavors of black fruits, violet and licorice. Finishes long and powerful. Impressively rich for a barbera from vines less than ten years old.

Healthy dark red. Bitter cherry, violet and licorice aromas. Intense dark berry and spice flavors hint at almost jammy ripeness, but bright acidity gives the wine a juicy, penetrating quality and terrific grip. An especially saliva-inducing example of this extremely flexible food wine.

Mineral, flowers, ripe fruit and toasty oak aromas follow through to a full body, with soft tannins and a citrus fruit aftertaste. Drink now.

Solid blackberry and chocolate character, with hints of meat. Medium-bodied, with a solid core of fruit and a fruity finish. Drink now.

Good deep ruby. Blackberry, violet and bitter chocolate on the nose. Wonderfully sweet, sappy and full, with superb acidity giving life to this very rich, chocolatey wine. Sexy oak complements the wine's fruit. The quality of this wine is on the upswing, as most of Rivetti's best Asti barbera now goes into this bottling. Previously the old-vines juice went into a Superiore, but now Rivetti does a separate Superiore bottling entirely from his new vineyard, Bionzo.

Bright ruby-red. Blackberry, violet and spices on the lively nose. Ripe and juicy, with harmonious acidity framing the dark fruit, fresh herb and mineral flavors. Not overly oaky despite the fact that it spent almost a year in one- and two-year-old barriques. Finishes with very good length and cut, and little in the way of tannins.

Always an attractive wine, the 2004 Barbera d’Asti Ca’ di Pian shows plenty of sweet dark plumy fruit with excellent concentration on the palate and a lovely underlying note of minerality that provides freshness. It is sure to provide much pleasure over the next several years. Anticipated maturity: 2007–2010.