Mauro Mascarello's 2005 Barolo Monprivato is absolutely beautiful. Orange peel, mint, tobacco, dried cherry and anise make a strong first impression. The 2005 appears to be going through an adolescent stage where the primary fruit has faded, but secondary and tertiary notes have not fully developed, so I suggest cellaring the wine for at least a few years to allow it to go through this phase. Initially quite delicate, the 2005 puts on considerable weight with air. This is going to be a fascinating Barolo to follow in the coming years and decades.

The 2005 Barolo Monprivato is a very pretty, harmonious wine endowed with tons of purity in its fruit. All of the telltale aromas and flavors of Monprivato are there – geraniums, roses, spices and flowers – but backed up by quite a bit of heft and body as well. Today, the 2005 Monprivato is quite tannic, but it should come around with a few more years in bottle. In some ways, the 2005 reminds me of the 1999, another vintage in which the Ca d’Morissio was not produced. Monprivato is typically one of the hardest wines to accurately assess when young, and only time will tell what heights it ultimately reaches. For now, the future certainly seems bright. This is a mysterious, seductive Monprivato that will be fascinating to follow. Mascarello was especially selective with his Monprivato and only bottled about 50% of his production. He also blended in the juice kept separately for the Ca d’Morissio, which in this vintage is about 20% of the final blend as opposed to the more typical 10% in vintages when the Ca d’Morissio is produced. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2035. (Antonio Galloni)

Good bright, dark red. Lovely floral nebbiolo perfume of strawberry, cherry and violet complicated by licorice, bitter chocolate and wild herbs; I was reminded of the northern Cote de Nuits. Silky, generous and layered, with lovely aromatic, expressive nebbiolo character and much more inner-mouth perfume today than the 2004. The tannins are fine-grained but this wine nonetheless possesses serious backbone. An excellent showing. This wine now includes 7% or 8% of the rose clone of nebbiolo, which Mascarello replanted here in 1996.

– vinous.com, November 2009

A lean, sinewy style, with eucalyptus, briar and tar notes. Opening with air, this shows a suppleness that needs time to manifest itself. A tighter expression than the Cà d'Morissio, this reflects the vintage. Best from 2014 through 2035. 1,830 cases made.

– Wine Spectator (Web Only), 2011

Pale ruby. Really classic mature Barolo on the nose. Hint of paint and certainly not low in VA but a lovely pure example. Textbook stuff. Bone-dry finish. Real delicacy. Bring on the white truffles... Not for the long term. (JR)