2005 Barbaresco Crichet Paje

The 2005 Barbaresco Crichët Pajé opens with exquisite, beguiling aromatics that are pure seduction. Sweet rose petal, mint, licorice, dried herbs and tobacco are all laced together as this gracious, inviting Barbaresco gradually opens up in the glass. The 2005 spent around 80 days on the skins followed by eight months in barrel. Because of its lengthy aging, the Crichët Pajé presents a distinctly earthy, savory profile, with the fruit pushed into the background. This is one of the better bottles of the 2005 I have had of late.

Cedar, worn-in leather, tobacco, smoke and dried cherries are all laced together in the 2005 Barbaresco Crichët Pajé. Hints of orange peel, cedar and star anise add nuance as the wine gradually opens up in the glass. The silky polished tannins and soft, mid-weight feel suggest the 2005 will drink well for the next decade plus, but my own personal preference would be to drink this sooner rather than later. As is often the case, after eight years in barrel the flavors are a bit forward.

The 2005 Barbaresco Crichët Pajé is a gorgeous wine that captures the essence of the year in its tense, sculpted personality. There’s terrific purity and cut to the Nebbiolo fruit, yet the 2005 remains a wine of linear intensity first and foremost. Two thousand-five is an interesting vintage, as it is a year that was basically saved by technology. Weather forecasts called for a prolonged period of rain around harvest, which prompted producers to pick early or know they would have to wait to pick until after the rain. In a previous generation, producers would have simply been rained on during the most critical part of the year. In 2005, technology provided data and options. The results are in the glass.