2003 Costa di Bussia, Barolo Riserva, Piedmonte, Italy.
What a beautiful surprise this wine turned out to be, from a hot vintage and coming off a terrible rainy vintage in 2002, the poor vines were not expected to have been able to cope, let alone produce such a pretty and detailed wine, but Costa di Bussia crafted a wonderful Barolo Riserva in the 2003 vintage. At first you feel the ripe fruit, but at almost 10 years old now it still has lots of freshness and life with rich plum, cherry and raspberry fruit layer while coca, tar, tea spices and licorice all add to the whole. The mid palate is racy still with gripping tannins and the finish is super lengthy and joyous with lots of rose petals and violets with a touch of blueberry and kirsch. This is a great effort and a super wine to drink now and for the next few years, until 2015 at least.
($50 Est.) 93+ Points, grapelive
