Nice bottle of wine, if perhaps on the decline. Came across with a hint of being oxidized/sherried. Not so much as to be offputting, but enough to serve as a warning that perhaps its time to drink up. It's difficult for me to see how more time helps this turn around and come out of the slide.

Like the bottle earlier this evening (2000 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Roussanne Vieilles Vignes), this one needs to be consumed sooner than later. All around, a brighter wine with more fruit and less negatively impacted by age. But this doesn't appear to be one that will last a lot longer.

On opening, the nose is a very nice melange of spice and smoke, with a thin palate that disappoints. No decant, but after an hour open, the palate greatly improves, rounding out and developing a quite silky mouthfeel and medium long finish that hints at just a touch of menthol. A very nice surprise, though not for everybody. Has a characteristic South African profile. A glass of this, and G. was reaching for the SA photo album.

There's been a number of times that I've bought a bottle of wine on a Parker rating, only to be disappointed when tasting it myself. More fun are nights like tonight. Parker had indicated that this one wouldn't last much beyond 2002. I'm happy to report that's not the case.

This is drinking just about perfectly today. Game, fruit and cedar on the nose, which develops richness and depth with time in the glass. Perfectly integrated and balanced on the palate. Medium bodied, medium finish with a menthol tease at the end. A longer finish would lead to a higher score. I suspect that I might have overrated this on a purely objective basis by a point or two, but its such a treat for me to drink a barolo that's right smack dab in its drinking window that I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

My 1st btl. Popped/poured after reading (with a bit of shock) that the sticker price of the '05 was hovering around $200, apparently due to the Parker effect (96-100pt rating). Had to try this transitional vintage out of curiousity. Nice nose; rich, dark, sweet fruit with a pleasant hint of herbaceousness. Palate is quite closed at this point. If the palate opens up to match the promise of the nose, this could touch 90pts for me.

Opened this expecting something port-like. To my taste, this is more akin to a late-harvest Zinfandel, both on the nose and palate. Reminds me a bit of Rod Snapp's stuff at Javelina Creek, turned up on the sweetness and viscosity dials. Good stuff that would really shine with the right dessert pairing. I don't find it as compelling on its own as a good port, but perhaps that's just an expectations issue on my part. I'll be interested to see how the rest of the bottle works out as it sits on the counter for the next several days. (91 pts)

Update: after a week on the counter, this has improved and softened. Good for another couple of points (93 pts).