Wine Reviews
Dense yet fluid, this red evokes blackberry, blueberry, violet, mineral and sweet spice aromas and flavors. Fine-grained tannins lend support, and this is balanced, fresh and long.
The Michele Chiarlo 2023 Barbaresco Asili shows the savory elegance that has long defined this celebrated cru, albeit interpreted through the richness of the warm vintage. Fermented for 17 to 18 days in 55-hectoliter oak vats with gentle cap management, the wine opens to sweet spice, black fruit and marasca cherry, followed by crème de cassis and licorice. The palate is generous and full, with impressive volume and richness framed by polished tannins. The wine is produced in 6,000 bottles from a one-hectare vineyard planted on gray-blue calcareous marls rich in magnesium and calcium.
Grown on calcareous marl soils streaked with sandy veins, the Michele Chiarlo 2023 Barbaresco Faset opens to sweet cherry and cassis with rose petal and cinnamon stick that give the wine a generous yet balanced personality. There are also notes of sweet earth and iris root that add dimension and depth to the bouquet. The mineral-rich soils, with elevated levels of magnesium and manganese, lend freshness and subtle tension beneath the wine’s ripe fruit profile. The finish is polished, persistent and harmonious. Production is 3,600 bottles.
The Michele Chiarlo 2023 Barbaresco Reyna is a velvety, richly textured expression that leans into the generous character of the vintage. Produced in 30,000 bottles, the wine delivers dark fruit aromas of blackberry and plum with light shadings of tobacco, baking spice and dried herbs. The palate is broad and full, carried by concentrated fruit weight and ample volume before finishing with savory notes of spice and tobacco. This is a richer, more expansive interpretation of Barbaresco that favors texture over delicacy.
A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 7% Merlot, 2% Petite Verdot, and 3% Malbec. Most of the fruit is sourced from the Rutherford AVA, with over half from the winery’s estate vineyards. Aged 18 months in 55% new French oak. Quite a wonderfully bold, dark-fruited Cabernet, with espresso bean nuances, scorched earth and expensive toasty oak with a muscular structure, with powerful tannins, infused with an unsweetened cocoa powder character, and elegant tobacco spices, giving them a savory character that also has a kind of freshness factor from ripeness and an iron-like mineral presence. Super polished with great length.
