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

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

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

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)

Following the extraordinary 2004 vintage, wines now available are the 2005, soon to be 2006, which are both good and need to be kept (8 to 10 years is a good drinking window guide, according to Boschis). Try then the sublime E Pira Barolo Cannubi 2005. It's expensive, yes, but then Barolo is like Burgundy: you need to spend money or don't bother. The magic's there or it's not.
(Victoria Moore - The Guardian - 03-Apr-2010)


What can I say? Great poise even in its youth, a whiff and lift of spirited, cherry kirsch, also of seared meat thanks to the 100% new French oak barriques; to taste, such seduction, a roll of meaty, cherry fruit, profondita that comes with great terroir, such energy & zip too...one to put aside while you savour Via Nuova. Needs another couple of years to find its stride, so probably best from 2012 till 2020? This calls for something roast, rabbit?'
(David Berry Green)

Subtle aromas of rose and blackberry follow through to a full body, with fine tannins and a fresh finish. Unfolds on the palate. Layered and beautiful. Refined yet structured.
Wine Spectator - 30 Sept 2008