2005 Italy

This is Alfredo and Luca's flagship (Barbaresco) wine, here expressing the sunny 2005 vintage: from the oldest vines that lie in a tiny, 0.5ha, sunny corner of the vineyard, perfectly expoused on a slight rise - 'Crichet' means 'little hill' in dialect. It's in a different league compared to their Paje and Paje VV: more focus, poise, compact and detail. Pale strawberry red, it enthralls with delicate, hallucinating perfumes of warm straw spice, of tiny red berries, full of sunshine, it's so beautiful and radiant, not dissimilar to 2011. Endless. 
David Berry Green

Approximately 8,000 bottles of Lisini’s Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is produced each year from a single 1.4 hectare vineyard. 2005 Ugolaia is a fine-boned, fragile wine with fragrant licorice aromas, suave tannins and a seared meatiness that typifies Lisini’s wines. Utterly compelling and very fine indeed.
David Berry Green, August 2011

Barolo Gramolere, is Fratellis’ Alessandria Monforte d'Alba vineyard, is a larger site at 4ha out of a total 20, alongside those of Sandrone and Pira. Its elevation is higher than that of Monvigliero at approx 425 metres above sea level, and it enjoys a particularly warm microclimate created by its altitude, tree sheltered location, a south-western aspect and by even steeper sandy clay soils. From 40 year old vines, this Barolo wine is stylistically very different to Alessandria's other vineyard, Monvigliero: broader, denser, more mulberry than raspberry on the nose, the palate has a definite succulence, boasting velveteen tannins; so all in all a richer brew. This cru was first bottled by the Alessandria family only in 2001, so an exciting new addition to the range.
(David Berry Green) The first thing to hit you on the palate is the abundance of sweet red fruit and on the nose hints of cocoa, cloves and mint.  The finish is long, smooth and lavishly rich. This is definitely a wine to be kept.
(Ben Upjohn - Fine Wine Department)

Darker, denser, broader than either Davide's Serralunga or La Serra wines, the product of south-east facing, clay-rich soils. Profound, intensely woven, compact licorice and black cherry notes leads on to a weight (ier) palate notable for its impressive texture, black minerally fruit and more assertive tannins in a masculine mould not dissimilar to La Morra's Brunate. Pair with a fine filet of beef.
(David Berry Green)

Very much in its youth, Diego and Nora's 05 Brunello, all 583 cases of it, shows only distinct, crunchy red and black cherry stone fruit, primary and at this stage deceptively straightforward. The palate is slightly more forthcoming, boasting a fine texture, a beautiful limpidity, a firm Gevrey Chambertin character, combined with a great weight and sense of majesty. Perfectly poised for lift-off. Give it 10 years at least.
David Berry Green, Fine Wine Buyer Diego Molinari was an Alitalia pilot for 25 years before retiring in the late 1970s. He and his vibrant, immaculate and designer handbag-loving wife scoured the lengths of Montalcino, looking for the perfect vineyard where they could pursue their winemaking dreams. They settled upon the small, north-easterly estate of Cerbaiona and bottled their first vintage in 1980.

Their exquisite 2005 Brunello is testament to the meticulous nature of the winemaking at Cerbaiona. Piercing aromas of cranberry, redcurrant and black cherry are abundant on the nose. There is a fine gravelly hue to the palate, which has a sumptuous velvety texture and clean, red fruit flavours. This is a pristine effort which will appeal to perfectionists.
Nicola Giacomelli, Senior Sales Executive

With its seductive perfume, this is classic Nebbiolo, full of sour cherry and rose-petal flavours, and tightly bound in a muscular structure of fine tannins and savoury acidity.
(Anthony Rose - The Independent - 16-Jan-2010) Lovely fresh red fruits on the nose, but this really comes to life on the palate, red currant and strawberry fruits combine with nuances of minerals and coffee to produce a very impressive mouthful.  Crisp, mouth-watering acidity and soft, grainy tannins complete the whole, great value package.  Drinking well now, but better still in a year or two and enjoyable until at least 2015.
(Chris Pollington - BBR Fine Wine Specialist)

While vintage 2004 was darker and fulsome, Maria Teresa's 2005 lifts the soul with a spirited spicy red fruit perfume, a delicate, gentle, velvety cherry stone palate and a sublime quality that perhaps only the Cantina Mascarello Bartolo can muster. Getting ahead of the Oct 10th rain seemed key to performing well in 2005, after what was a relatively mild summer. This is perhaps an apt advertisement for the benefits of blending vineyards together, four into one; a philosophy the Cantina holds dear. An Englishman’s Barolo? It's certainly sings of finesse. Drinking till 2020, along with lamb (Maria Teresa's favourite meat).
(David Berry Green)