Gigi Rosso's 2011 Barolo Riserva Arione dell'Ulivo opens to a plump and enriched bouquet. You get dark fruit sensation here with dried cherry and blackberry preserves. This Riserva is only made in the best vintages. It offers a solid front of fruit with spice, tar and leather at the back. The wine shows firmness and tight astringency on the close. Only 3,000 bottles were produced.

The 2010 Barolo Riserva Arione dell'Ulivo is a tightly wrapped and firm red wine that takes a minute or two to open. Once it does, the bouquet presents characteristic aromas of crème de cassis, blackberry and forest bramble. There is a wild side to the nose that also offers cola, dried spice and licorice. The wine is a bit thin on the mid-palate, but it does deliver some tannic tightness that should bode well for its future aging trajectory. I would expect this wine to flesh out further with more time in the bottle.

Only made in the best vintages, 2009 Barolo Riserva Arione dell'Ulivo exhibits a large frame and soft contours with ripe fruit, spice, leather and tarry resin. It is already showing tertiary definition of licorice and grilled herbs. It's a slower-paced wine with moderate energy. The 2009 vintage presents structured but yielding tannins and chewy consistency. The wine ages in Slovenian oak for 60 months.