From the estate that proved the extraordinary quality of the Ravera subzone, this compelling wine opens with heady scents of rose, iris, perfumed berry, new leather and camphor. Focused and full bodied, the precise palate is delicious and firmly structured, featuring ripe red cherry, crushed raspberry, licorice and tobacco framed in tightly knit fine-grained tannins. Fresh acidity keeps it beautifully balanced and lends youthful tension. Drink 2024–2056. KERIN O’KEEFE

Valter Fissore’s Ravera is a highlight of the vintage, combining elegance, freshness and power in a superbly balanced wine. It opens like a bouquet of rose petals and bursts with flavors of fresh cherry, mulberry and menthol. Fissore likes vintages in which the vines find their own balance, and that’s what happened in 2016, a year that required minimal green harvesting. He works hard to manage tannins by picking at the optimal moment, and he clearly nailed it in 2016 with a wine that is tautly structured and built for aging, yet so juicy and accessible that it’s difficult to resist now. Ravera is always the first of Fissore’s three single-cru wines to be released, and its success in this vintage will drive anticipation for the 2016 Bricco Pernice and Riserva Vigna Elena—both from single plots in the Ravera cru, scheduled for release within the next two years. For a more affordable introduction to the Elvio Cogno style, don’t miss the 2016 Barolo Cascina Nuova, also recommended here.

(97+ points) Of the many great contributions made by the winemaking team at Elvio Cogno, perhaps the greatest is the importance they brought to the Ravera cru of Novello. Little-known before their efforts, this vineyard has risen in high regard in recent years and continues to show impressive potential. The 2016 Barolo Ravera offers an important education in why this site deserves the spotlight. The wine shows terrific balance and depth, with rich fruit aromas framed by smoke, tar, ferrous earth and tangy licorice. The tannins are softly contoured, and the wine moves over the palate with profound length. Interestingly, two Nebbiolo clones, Lampia and Michet, are blended to make this wine. Some 15,000 bottles are hitting the market now.- ML

A compact, dense red, both in terms of fruit and tannins. Cherry, strawberry, iron, tobacco and tar flavors hold court while the vivid acidity and beefy tannins lend structure. Terrific length. Everything is in the right place; this just needs time to harmonize. Best from 2023 through 2045. — B.S.

Crystalline purity to this Barolo with red currants, fruit tea, lemons, freshly squeezed oranges and rosemary. Medium-to full-bodied with inward-looking, sophisticated tannins that thread vibrant red fruit in ribbon-like shapes. Drink from 2024.