Initially savory, with stony aromas, black tea, and cocoa powder, followed by lovely blood orange and red fruit. Medium-bodied with no sensation of heat, and quite pronounced but satisfyingly ripe tannins, the wine is very long.

“Vignesparse” is sourced from vineyards in the village of Neive, one of the three anchor towns of the Barbaresco production zone, where Adriana Marzi and Roberto Bruno have hand-crafted a small range of wines since they founded Cantina del Glicine in 1980. Sadly, 2016 is probably the last vintage to be released by Glicine: Roberto Bruno the winemaker and owner died in 2017. After Roberto’s passing the 2016 was tended by the super-talented Mario Andreon, of Castello di Verduno. But the 2016 is a suitable monument to Roberto’s skill and dedication. The 2016 shows the finesse and harmonious character of an ideally long and cool ripening vintage. It will take some years to unwind from what is initially a pretty intense and wintery wine with some muscle; with air it emerges as very graceful.