Nicolas Belfrage: Medium depth with garnet hues. Traditional-style dried-fruit and tar aromas, floral hints. Surprisingly light and lacking in immediate succulence on the palate, following the nose, but redeems itself and a new level of flavors comes through. Long and complex, probably wants five years; drink 2018+. 17

Andrew Jefford: Deep red, shading to garnet; some bricking is evident. Quite secondary in aroma, yet also very, very beguiling: a lovely susurration of creamy fruits and dry grasses, of warm stones and clayey earth. On the palate, it is a relatively smooth wine through most of its mouth trajectory, just kicking in with some soft tannins at the very end; the fruit is quite recessive. This sounds like a dismissal, yet it is drily harmonious, and the grandeur of Piedmont’s terroir of course renders it compelling and gastronomic. There is, in sum, an awful lot there, and my score is probably mean. 15.5

Franco Ziliani: Rich, intense, almost opaque color. A little sign of premature evolution, with dense and unclear hues. Intense tobacco and dried leaves, a fall character to the wine; very strange, with black licorice, wild animal notes, dried plums. Very short and bitter on the palate, no great substance and structure, with tannins not bitter but aggressive on the finish. A strange interpretation of great Serralunga d’Alba terroir. Old style—much too old. 15.5