Aromas of tar, asphalt and dark berries with blackberries and blueberries. Dusty earth, too. Full-bodied, very focused and chewy with ultra fine tannins and a long and flavorful finish. So polished and gorgeous. So drinkable now, after nine years in the cellar of Aldo Conterno. Drink or hold.

This wine blew me away. The 2009 Barolo Riserva Granbussia is a proud achievement and an expression of rare beauty. This wine will be released this fall, some nine years after the harvest. Only 3,000 bottles were produced. The Granbussia narrative is one of elegance and refinement. The fruit comes from two vineyard parcels in the greater Bussia cru and was co-fermented (instead of being blended after malolactic fermentation). So much fruit was dropped during the summer growing cycle that the harvest came later than usual. This allowed for slow, even ripening and a deeper sense of aromatic complexity that you immediately identify here. The nose is redolent of wet earth and autumnal leaf with white truffle and forest berry. The wine offers extreme Nebbiolo purity with anise seed, tar and licorice. - Monica Larner

A haunting bouquet of incense, sandalwood, cedar, leather, mushroom and tar swirls around a core of ripe cherry and plum flavors. This is rich and sumptuous, yet still very solid and dense, with time to give. The finish goes on for what seems like minutes. Drink now through 2036. — B.S.