The family that owns the Paitin estate lost its patriarch, Secondo Pasquero Elia, as this wine was being readied for release, and he would have been proud of the way this turned out. The 2018 Barbaresco Serraboella Sorì Paitin is glossy and polished with a super fine and delicate quality of fruit. It just glides over the palate as if it were on skates. That beautiful forward momentum is driven by light cassis, dried cherry, iron skillet, candied orange peel and crushed flowers. The finish is exceptionally smooth and elegant. Complimenti. Production was 6,350 bottles.

A beefy red, this offers tar, cherry, plum and resin flavors, backed by dense tannins. This is compact and dry on the long finish, but there's ample fruit. Best from 2024 through 2040. 530 cases made, 130 cases imported.

The 2018 Barbaresco Sorì Paitin offers good depth and plenty of grip, but there is no way of getting around the mid-weight structure of the year. Nervy tannins wrap around a core of red berry fruit, lavender, rose petal, spice and mint. I would give the Sorì Paitin a few years in bottle to soften, but imagine it will always remain a lighter wine by the estate's historical standard. It will be interesting to see where this goes. In 2018, there is no Vecchie Vigne; the best fruit was used here.