Pio Cesare: Introducing Mosconi

The fruit for this wine is sourced from Pio Cesare's plots in the Ornato vineyard in Serralunga d'Alba. It has a big, bold palate impression with lovely fresh acidity framing a core of delicate red fruits and heavier plummy notes. The tannins are fine and chalky, and despite this vineyard's reputation for producing heavily structured wines, it's relatively light on its feet, juicy and moreish. Although delicious, it seems a waste to drink it so early in its life - I would leave it for at least another couple of years for all the elements to fully integrate and then decant after opening. Vinified in stainless steel before spending 18 months in barriques and a further 12 months in botti.

Pio Cesare's newest wine, this is produced from the recently purchased Mosconi vineyard in Monforte d'Alba. The sale went through just a few days before Pio Boffa's 60th birthday, and 30 years after the first release of the estate's original single-vineyard Barolo, Ornato.<br><br>Originally purchased to enrich the 'classic' Barolo, the wine Mosconi's old vines - dating back to 1947 and 1971 - produced was deemed exceptional enough that Pio Cesare decided to make it into a standalone wine. Unlike most of Pio Cesare's other reds, this spends the majority of time in barrique rather than botti, which seems to suit its powerful personality.<br><br>It has a red hedgerow fruit aroma with a touch of orange peel and a savoury edge. The palate has good density with very fine tannins, combined with very fresh acidity and rich, plummy fruits with some cedary notes. It's lighter than the denser Ornato showing more red fruit, but, like its sibling is surprisingly light on its feet for such a substantial wine. It finishes with a lovely lick of sweet, elegant cherry fruit and a touch of woody vanilla. A very good first attempt, I expect we will see the estate refining the recipe for this wine over the next few vintages.

The Bricco vineyard in Treiso is known for producing solid, ageworthy wines. Combined with Pio Cesare's use of stainless steel for vinification and then botti and barrique for maturation, the result is an elegant, fresh yet structured wine with hidden power. The broad palate has a chocolate edge to it, with oak astringency and plummy hedgerow fruit in tow. The fine, delicate tannins give grip but there's a lovely juicy character just waiting to break out. If you need to drink this right away it deserves decanting. Approximately 5,000 bottles produced.

2015 saw drought conditions in late June and July but there were reserves of water from earlier heavy snow in winter and heavy rain in mid-May. Like the Barbaresco, Pio Cesare prefer to call this its 'classic' Barolo, which certainly suits the old-school style of the wine. Fruit comes from seven vineyards scattered around Barolo, including - for the first time - 10% fruit from the young vines of Mosconi in Monforte d'Alba. The older vines from Mosconi have been used for a new single-vineyard bottling. True to form, this has dusty hedgerow fruit aromas with a touch of new leather. It's lighter, softer and more savoury than the single-vineyard bottlings, but the palate is quite tight, with some good acidity peeking through. Some sweet red fruits appear on the mid-palate, followed by Parma violet lift on the finish. Since the 1960s, the estate has only produced around 5,000 cases of this wine each vintage.

The label states: 'Please don't call it "Regular"'. Pio Boffa doesn't see this as a 'basic' or 'regular' bottling of Barbaresco, rather referring to it as the estate's 'classic' bottling, as opposed to the single-vineyard Il Bricco. And it's certainly 'classic' in outlook: the wine is matured for 24-30 months in mostly large oak botti, with a small amount in barrique. Sourced from four vineyards, three of which are in Treiso - the most elevated Barbaresco village - this has very fine, ripe yet fresh tannins with some gentle, savoury-edged red fruits. There's a slight strawberry plushness on the finish. A great match for lamb served pink.

2008 was a tricky year with lower than average yields due to parasitic infestation and hail damage. A cool, wet early- to mid-summer was followed by a dry, sunny September and October which helped to achieve full ripeness. With age has come beautiful elegance. This displays pure autumnal fruit aromas accompanied by a cedar-scented edge, leading to a savoury, peppery palate showing hints of black cherry, damp earth, leather and tobacco. It has good freshness, and some structure still remains evident.

2006 has been hailed as a top year in Barolo, although questions have been raised around whether the tannins will ever resolve in some wines. It was a difficult year with a very hot July followed by a cool, wet August. September was mixed, demanding lots of attention in the vineyards. This has more grip than the 2008 Barbaresco tasted just before it - evidence of the tannic nature of the 2006 vintage. It has an elegant, spicy nose and a palate full of lively, punchy black and red fruits with a damp earth character and some raspberry-like acidity. It's not so much juicy, more fruity and savoury, with a slightly austere nature despite the freshness. You can definitely drink this now but I would decant it first to loosen up those tannins.

This single-vineyard Barbaresco is now 15 years old and is in a lovely place. A late bud-break was caused by wet weather through until early May, but this was followed by a warm and dry summer. This has a lovely juicy cherry aroma with a sweet hint of vanilla and leathery tobacco notes. The palate is slightly firm still, but the cherry and brambly fruits have a delicious sweet ripeness to them and the finish is long endearing. Pure, fresh and softening nicely, there is still some power lurking in the background.

2000 was a hot and dry growing season, with the vines leaning on water reserves built up from spring rains. The vintage is characterised by a higher diurnal range than normal, which allowed the grapes to ripen well in the sun's warmth but retain their freshness and fragrance as temperatures cooled at night. There's a pruney, figgy quality on the nose, with a sweet, damp earth note and overtones of pot-pourri. The palate is still grippy, with some alcoholic warmth alongside soft, mulchy hedgerow fruits and a current of sweet red-fruit acidity. The finish is lined with herbal mulch, damp earth and old wood. Ready to drink, this could be left for a few more years but I can't see it improving any further.

2009 was a very hot vintage with virtually no rainfall through the summer, although water reserves built up the preceding winter and spring helped the vines to battle on through. Now 10 years old, this 2009 offers a lovely combination of sweet and savoury hedgerow fruits. It has opened up beautifully with time, revealing a soft, mulchy core surrounded by plenty of spice and herb notes. The finish is full of elegant but fading cherry.