Robert Parker, Jr.-The Wine Advocate:  Rated as An outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character. "The 2005 Barolo Castelletto is the sweetest and richest of these offerings. Made in a round, generous style, the Castelletto flows onto the palate with an explosive array of dark red fruit. Sweet medicinal herbs, licorice and spices emerge with notable clarity on the long finish. The Castelletto can be enjoyed today for its exuberant, textured fruit, or cellared for those who prefer more tertiary complexity. Either way, it is a beautiful 2005 Barolo. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2025." Apr 2009

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar: Rated as Outstanding. "Good medium red. Quite closed on the nose, with the fruit currently suppressed by menthol, cedar and nutty oak. Then surprisingly big and sweet in the mouth, with much more fruit and energy than the nose suggests. The fullest of these three 2005 releases, finishing with broad, building tannins and a lingering flavor of redcurrant." Nov/Dec 2009

Winery:  Nose: elegant and intense, with notes of raspberrry jam, underbrush berries and tobacco  Colour: ruby red with medium intensity garnet tones. Taste: warm, pleasant with a good tannic balance, sapid.  Food: game, poultry and seasoned cheese.

Wired For Wine: Hello beautiful Piedmontese prince...  Brace your taste buds for a delightful ride when you open your first bottle of this stellar Giovanni Manzone Castelletto Barolo.  This luxurious Barolo will stop you dead in your tracks when you have your first sip and nibble on crostini with white truffles, olive paste and lavender.  Sto sognando?!  The combination of flavors will seduce you as it brings out the oak, cedar and generous flavor of the wine.  Moving along in the meal, the sumptuous dark red fruit, heady tannins, spice notes and top shelf richness and structure of this Giovanni Manzone lend it to meats, game, mushrooms, and generally hearty fare.  We love this Castelletto with osso buco which has been braised to a luxurious tenderness.  If it's game you're in the mood for, then our first choice is roasted venison with glazed chestnuts and caramelized brussel sprouts.  The lovely juxtaposition of slightly sweet and bitter will marry perfectly with the big fruit and broad tannins in this Piedmontese red.  If comfort food is on the menu, then you will be most happy indeed with steaming bowls of pappardelle with lamb ragu.  Nobody will want to leave after any of these choices, so be ready to serve another bottle or two.  Break up a good quality Pecorino cheese into small chunks, fill your glasses once more, and the meal can then officially be classified a success.  This is one cup you'll want to runneth over, winelovers!

Bottle:  750ml, cork
Varietal:  100% Nebbiolo
Alcohol:  14.0%
Ageing:    24 months in barrel, bottled 36 months after harvest
Region:    Monforte d'Alba, Piedmont, Italy