Many wineries choose to release two bottlings of their signature varietal: one that they consider their best or "flagship" bottling, made from the choicest grapes on the property, then one that serves as their second label, with all of the grapes that, while still good, didn't make it into the flagship wine. But then there are such rigorous die-hards as the fourth-generation family stewards of the Brezza winery in Piedmont, Italy. While they dabble in other varietals, Nebbiolo is their star grape. So they make classic Barolo. Then they make a few different single-vineyard bottlings of Barolo. But it's only in the best years, they say, that small lots of fruit from the highest part of the Sarmassa vineyard are harvested and vinified separately, then tasted by the winemaker and visiting experts to ascertain whether a "Bricco Sarmassa" will be released that year. The 2004 vintage was one in which this decision was easy. A banner year across much of Italy, it will be one to age for a decade or so for optimal drinking (though it should begin drinking beautifully in another 3-4 years.) Antonio Galloni of the Wine Advocate called out "layers of mentholated, balsamic notes that swirl around in the glass, rounding out the wine's dense core of ripe, dark fruit." A wine of exceptional length, it'll only get better from now through 2020 or longer.
