A very fine and polished Barolo with lots of orange peel and sliced dried strawberry. Medium body with solid and linear tannins that run through the center palate. Very structured. The lighter color is slightly off-putting but it shows structure and solidity. Give this time to open. Try after 2029.

Lots of dried flowers here give a perfumed nature to it with berries and citrus. Hibiscus water, too. Full-bodied and chewy with lots of tannins and vivid acidity. Subtle plum and strawberry character. Muscular and formed. This needs time. Try after 2028.

The Renato Ratti 2018 Barolo Rocche dell'Annunziata (with 5,500 bottles produced) is the estate's headline wine with fruit from a special 1.5-hectare site with characteristic Tortoniano blue marl mixed with veins of sand. The wine is aged in a combination of new barrique and Slavonian oak casks. The results are fine and filigreed with aromas of sour cherry, smoke, tar and pencil shaving. I love the precision of this Barolo and the energy capped within its lean and tight mouthfeel.

From a historic vineyard site in La Morra, the Renato Ratti 2017 Barolo Rocche dell'Annunziata shows nicely balanced results in this vintage and is my favorite of this three Barolo release. The wine is redolent of dried cherry, cassis, crushed rose and dusty earth. To the palate, it is very fine and almost fragile, although the tannins are dry and loosely textured. We see this in Ratti's Barolos from Conca and Marcenasco as well. Production is 5,500 bottles.

From the first sip, you are made aware of the power and depth of this wine. At the top of the estate portfolio, the Renato Ratti 2016 Barolo Rocche dell'Annunziata is the most structured and layered expression, with fruit from one of the flagship vineyards of La Morra. The power of the wine unfolds with dark fruit, cassis and crushed rock. I gave my sample ample aeration, and that made all the difference. I tasted menthol and balsam herb in a fluid and ever-changing exchange. The Conca shows more mineral definition, and the Rocche dell'Annunziata is all about power, depth and length.