2014 Barbaresco Asili

Today, the 2014 Barbaresco Asili is much more expressive than the Bernardot. Then again, that is Asili. The power and depth the 2014 Asili has always shown is still evident, but there is also better balance and more overall harmony than I saw last year. That is only natural for a late-ripening vintage such as 2014, where the wines are still very much in their formative stage. Pliant and bold to the point of being quite masculine for Asili, the 2014 possesses notable intensity and the pedigree to continue to develop for many years to come.

The 2014 Barbaresco Asili is a little bashful at first, and it takes some time before it makes its personality known. On first impact, it is timid and nervous, but it becomes much louder and more confident with a little extra time in the glass. The bouquet is redolent of dark fruit, dried cherry, campfire ash and crushed mineral. Ultimately, this is an elegant and graceful wine that will flesh out further as it continues its evolution.

Barbaresco. Healthy, mid ruby with orange tinges. A little candied and dusted on the nose (oak?) and in need of lots of aeration. Sweet-sour, embryonic fruit on the palate that is just medium weight filled out by fine grainy tannins. Elegant, youthful and wonderfully balanced. (WS)