The 2021 Barbera d'Alba Gallina is pretty impressive in this vintage. Dark and potent, with terrific persistence, the Gallina has plenty of texture that has always been a signature but without the heaviness and strong oak imprint that was at times penalizing. Dark red/purplish fruit, lavender, licorice, mocha and rose petals scream out of the glass. Pretty floral top notes brighten the finish.

The 2020 Barbera d'Alba Gallina is packed with black cherry, plum, espresso, mocha and licorice. Plush and generous, the 2020 is a classic Barbera from Alba with forward fruit and soft contours to wrap it all together.

Aromas of crushed berry and raspberry with some flint and slate undertones. Medium-bodied with a solid core of fruit and slightly chewy tannins. Shows tension and focus. Drink now.

The La Spinetta 2018 Barbera d'Alba Gallina is balanced and bright with dark fruit, pressed blackberry, plum and sweet potting soil. The wine is soft and richly textured, making it perfect to pair across from a classic roast pork dinner.

The 2017 Barbera d'Alba Gallina is sleek, elegant and delicious. Black cherry, plum, licorice, spice and blackberry jam fill out the layers nicely. The 2017 is dark and voluptuous, but also shows a bit less heft than some recent years, a development that is quite positive, in my view, that will be more evident in more favorable vintages. Pretty floral accents round out the finish.

The 2017 Barbera d'Alba Gallina is darkly saturated and rich with an abundant display of black cherry, plum and blackberry. The wine shows broad shoulders but carries its fruit weight with considerable balance and poise. You could pair this wine with barbecued red meat or pulled pork.

The 2016 Barbera d'Alba Gallina is a very beautiful wine. In 2016, the Gallina has all the fruit richness and intensity it always has, with an extra kick of richness that brings an extra dimention of verticality and energy. Raspberry jam, spice., menthol and licorice all develop in the glass in this impeccably rendered, totally alluring Barbera from one of the top sites in Barbaresco.

From a two-hectare plot in the Gallina cru in Neive with south-facing exposures. The 2016 Barbera d'Alba Gallina (with 7,000 bottles produced) shows great focus and sharpness with bright cherry and blackberry fruit followed by spice, tilled earth and sweet barbecue smoke. This Barbera from Alba offers more linearity and directness compared to the other two expressions of the grape from the Asti area, where you feel the acidic crispness of the grape.

Another gorgeous wine, the 2015 Barbera d'Alba Gallina is supple, dense and racy, with no hard edges and tons of concentration. Dark raspberry jam, mocha, spice and new leather fill out nicely in a creamy, supple Barbera that expresses all of the natural silkiness and resonance that make this wine so unique.

Barbera is planted in the middle section of the celebrated Gallina cru in Neive. The rest of this vineyard is planted to Nebbiolo to make Barbaresco Gallina. Counterintuitively, La Spinetta left that strip of Barbera grapes intact because they wanted to preserve tradition. Others would have probably replaced it with the more lucrative Nebbiolo variety. The 2014 Barbera d'Alba Gallina is made from old vines evidently happy to stay exactly where they are at the moment. Despite the difficulties of the vintage, this wine oozes forth with dark intensity, a velvety structure and exuberant fruit aromas. Smokey mineral dustings also appear.

A fresh and clean Barbera with dried berry and lemon rind character. Medium body, fresh finish. Attractive for a 2014. Drink now.

Just bottled, the 2013 Barbera d'Alba Gallina exudes richness and intensity. Blueberry jam, mocha, crème de cassis and bittersweet chocolate wrap around the palate. Unctuous, super-ripe and concentrated, the 2013 is decidedly flamboyant, with the suave tannins and supleness that are such a signature of this wine. At times, the Gallina is a bit heavy, but it is otherwise tasty.

A bright, delicious barbera with lots of blueberry, shaved -dark-chocolate and spice aromas and flavors. Full body, firm tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Drink now.

Wonderful aromas of dark fruits, truffles and flowers. Full and smoky earth and dark fruit. Velvety texture. Long finish.

A gorgeous red with blackberries and fresh herbs and hints of spices. Full body, round tannins and a fresh, clean finish. La Spinetta is a master of Barbera among other reds. Drink now.

A tense, tightly coiled wine, the 2010 Barbera d'Alba Gallina impresses for its energy, drive and class. Graphite, tar, smoke and licorice flow through to the powerful, vibrant finish. The Gallina is usually pretty soften and round, but not in 2010. A blast of tar, smoke and incense hits the palate on the finish.

A generous and rich Barbera with loads of character, like a Sachertorte chocolate cake. Full and very fresh, with a juicy, fruity finish.

The 2009 Barbera d'Alba Gallina is rich, powerful and direct. I am surprised by the wine's huge structure, as I expected a softer Barbera given the vintage and site. Plums, mocha, licorice and grilled herbs all flesh out in the powerful, incisive Barbera. With time in the glass, the wine turns increasingly floral and delicate, yet never loses its essential depth. Readers will need to be patient, but there is no denying the 2009 is shaping up to be a wonderful bottle. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024.

The 2008 Barbera d'Alba Gallina shows the suppleness and richness of this great vineyard in Neive. Here the fruit is warm, open and expressive, quite a contrast to its sibling, the Barbera Bionzo, which is made forma site in Asti. The Gallina flows effortlessly with sweet ripe blackberries, flowers, spices, herbs, licorice and leather, but it is the wine's textural elegance and silkness I admire most. This is a beautiful, understated Barbera from La Spinetta. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2018. This is a superb set of wines form Giorgio Rivetti. The 2008 Barbareschi are among the strongest wines of the year, while the 2007 Barolo Campe is the best wine to emerge from Rivetti's vineyard in Grinzane Cavour. The La Spinetta style focusing on wines of great textural richness remains intact, but is dialed in to a greater degree with each passing vintage.

The 2007 Barbera d'Alba Gallina emerges from the glass with a gorgeous array of violets, tar, smke, minerals, plums and spices. This is a beautiful delineated Barbera with gorgeous freshness and clarity that carries though to the refined finish. Some of the weight of past vintages seems missing as the 2007 is built more on finesse rather than sheer power alone. The wine continues to grow in the glass, revealing plenty of minerality and long, pure finish. It is a terrific effort form La Spinetta. The Gallina spent 16-18 months in the French oak prior to being bottled. Anicipated maturity: 2011-2017. This is a highly successful set of new releases from La Spinetta. The winesshowgreat balance and class across the board.

What ripeness this shows, with dried red fruits and sliced orange on the nose. Full-bodied, with very good acidity and a long, flavorful finish. Drink now. 830 cases made.

The estate's 2005 Barbera d'Alba Gallina reveals a dark, purplish color. It is a sweet, well-delineated wine with layers of ripe dark fruit, violets minerals, smoke, plums and asphalt. In 2005 the Gallina is a more slender, smaller-scalated wine than is normally the case. Of Rivetti's top Barberas I usually prefer the Bionzo, but in 2005 it is the Gallina which offers greater complexity and harmony. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2010. This a very strong set of releases from La Spinetta and proprietor Giorgio Rivetti. The 2004 Barbarescos are easily the best of his career. The wines still see 100% new Frech oak, but toast levels have been reduced and the Barbarescos now spend 12 months in oak rather than 18 months they saw in previous vintages.Both changes have had a remarkably positive effect in allowing more site-specific character and Nebbiolo fruit to come through. The 2003 Barolo Campe shows that Rivetti is making important strides with this wine as well. Only the 2005 Barberas are disappointing season. In the past La Spinetta was an estate that relied just as much on style as substance. The 2004 Barbarescos, and specially the Starderi, are the first wines that trully live up to the glamorous image that Giorgio Rivetti has masterfully succeeded in creating.

(these vines are now about 40 years old) Black ruby. Deeply pitched aromas of cassis, blackberry, smoke and dark chocolate. Large-scaled, fat and chewy; a broad, rich barbera that's distinctly rounder and more approachable than the Bionzo. Finishes with soft but serious tannins. I'd like to put this in a blind fights of California cabernets!.

The 2001 Barbera d'Alba Gallina, a full, dark ruby, is very spicy, with cloves and cedar intermingled with the plum and blackberry fruit. Very warm and generous on the palate (14.5?). It’s sweet fruit and luscious textured are kept fresh by the acidity and the minerals notes of the close. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2009.

The 2000 Barbera d'Alba Gallina was aged 16-18 months in new French oak. It offers an explosive bouquet of tobacco, sweet black fruits, licorice, and earth. Full-bodied, intense, and velvety- testured, with great palated presence. It should be consumed over the next 5-6 years to take advantaged of its exuberant.

The 1999 Barbera d'Alba Gallina is awesome! I am not sure it will get any better since Barbera is not one of the most noble varietals in terms of complexity and intensity. It does, however, offer glorious levels of concentration as well as a huge nose of smoked meats, blackberry, cherry, and strawberry jam with licorice, new oak, and barbecue spice. Viscous, remarkably dense ans sexy. It is impossible to resist. For drinking now and over the next 4-5 years, this is as profound a dry red wine as readers will find.

Received the rating of 3 Glasses for extraordinary wines

The opaque purple-colored 1998 Barbera d'Alba Gallina ( a top Barbaresco vineyard outside Neive) was aged in 100% new oak. It offers a glorious perfumed of chocolate, cedar, blackberries, cherry liqueur and smoke. This massive yet well-balanced, layered wine is explosive. Drink it over the next 5-6 years.

The 1997 Barbera d'Alba Gallina may be one of the finest Barberas ever produced in Italy. Opaque purple-colored, with soaring aromatics, huge density and richness, a voluptuous texture, and a finish that lasts for nearly a minute, this mid-boggling effort should age gloriously for a decade or more.

Received the rating of 3 Glasses for extraordinary wines

The terrific, formidably-endowed, gorgeous pure, full-bodied 1996 Barbera d'Alba Gallina has soaked up its new oak beautifully. It possesses such phenomenal layers of concentrate black fruits, full body, and amazing glycerin and depth that it must be tasted to be believed.