2004 Azelia Barolo

(89 Points) Azelia's 2004 Barolo is a super-rich wine loaded with generous black cherries and spices. It is a beautifully poised, balanced Barolo. In recent years Azelia has stepped up the quality of the Barolo by including more juice from their top vineyards, and it shows in this terrific wine which is sure to offer much pleasure over the next decade or so. I can-t ask for too much more from a wine at this level. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2016.

Readers looking for a first-rate Barolo producer whose pricing has remained very fair need look no further than the wines of Azelia and proprietor Luigi Scavino. These are among my favorite wines to drink, especially in restaurants, where they don-t suffer from the larger markups that accompany some of the region's better known bottlings. Wine Advocate # 174, Dec 2007