The 2005 Il Caberlot is strikingly beautiful. It reveals superb precision and clarity as floral, perfumed aromas open in the glass. This jewel of a wine possesses superb depth and weight, but it comes across as very primary today, although hints of herbs and black pepper gradually emerge to complement the fruit. Il Caberlot is a wine with an impressive track record of developing complexity in bottle, and I have no doubt that will be the case here as well. This is a phenomenal effort for the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2022. Proprietor Bettina Rogosky and oenologist Peter Schilling continue to turn out stunning wines endowed with notable purity, class and elegance at Il Carnasciale. The property was once a part of the adjacent Petrolo estate and over the years this hillside terroir has produced some truly magical wines. The estate’s top wine, Il Caberlot, is bottled only in magnums and can be very hard to find. Fortunately in recent years the estate has introduced a second-wine, Il Carnasciale, which is bottled in standard 750ml bottles and offered at a more accessible price. Both wines are made from the unique Caberlot clone, which is believed to be a genetic mutation of Cabernet and Merlot. Readers who want to learn more about Il Carnasciale may want to check out my profile on the winery in the Italy Report section of www.erobertparker.com. Importer: The Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA; tel. (707) 996-4484

Hand-numbered magnum number 1,505 of 2,100 produced. Date of harvest: 1 October 2005. Very dark and impenetrable. Completely different from the previous vintages. Bright, perfumed blackberry and creamy cassis and dusty oak with leafy, minty notes. Instant summer fruit pudding on the attack, shot through by acidity. Wonderful freshness and a very good wine in itself, just not as precise or persistent as other vintages. (WS)