Barbera d'Alba

Oh, what a beautiful, complex and composed nose - floral and candy-laced, with an unexpected but lovely twist of menthol and Sicilian orange. But then comes the palate, and ouch - stemy, unyielding, and frankly painful. It's clearly stylish and has potential, but right now it's far too young and lacks the precision to pull everything together. A shame, really. One of those wines that's better left in the glass than on the tongue.