Valter Fissore’s Ravera is highlight of the vintage, combining elegance, freshness and power in a superbly balanced wine. It opens like a bouquet of rose petals and bursts with flavors of fresh cherry, mulberry and menthol. Fissore likes vintages in which the vines find their own balance, and that’s what happened in 2016, a year that required minimal green harvesting. He works hard to manage tannins by picking at the optimal moment, and he clearly nailed it in 2016 with a wine that is tautly structured and built for aging, yet so juicy and accessible that it’s difficult to resist now. Raver is always the first of Fissore’s three single-cry wines to be released, and its success in this vintage will drive anticipation for the 2016 Bricco Pernice and Riserva Vigna Elena – both from simple plots in the Ravera cru, scheduled for release within the next two years. For more affordable introduction to the Elvio Cogno style, don’t miss the 2016 Barolo Casina Nuova, also recommended.