Abrigo Orlando Barbaresco Meruzzano 2016

JS 95 / AG 94 pts

JS: Here’s a very opulent but tuned-in Barbaresco. It packs in a plethora of dried blackberries, tar and creme caramel into a surprisingly balanced nose. Very, very powerful on the palate, which is saturated in dark plums and ripe, chewy tannins. It might be too assertive for some, but this will soften and delight, if you give it time in the bottle to mature.

AG: Abrigo’s 2016 Barbaresco Meruzzano is a rich, heady wine. Smoke, tobacco, leather, licorice, dried herbs, menthol and melted road tar give the 2016 a distinctly brooding feel that also comes through in the wine’s imposing tannins and inward feel. Readers should expect a potent, virile Barbaresco that needs time in bottle to shed some of its considerable tannin. There is a lot to look forward to in this stellar Barbaresco from Abrigo.