The 2005 Barbaresco Riserva Paje opens with a blast of tar, menthol and smoke that leads to dark cherries, plums, leather and licorice. This is an especially powerful, shut-down Barbaresco at this stage, but with time in bottle the layers should fill out quite nicely. Today it remains compact and in need of further time in bottle. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2030. The Produttori del Barbaresco have another set of wonderful wines on their hands with these new releases. The Produttori have long made delicious, ageworthy Barbarescos, but in the last few years the overall level of quality and consistency has gone up several notches. Best of all, prices have remained exceedingly fair. The 2005 Riservas are worthy successors to the magical 2004s. The 2005 have more overt fruit than the 2004s but lack the explosive, layered quality that defines so many of the wines of that magical harvest. Still, these fine, traditionally built Barbarescos deserve serious attention. The estate’s fans will be delighted to learn that Riservas are planned for the 2006, 2007 and 2008 vintages. Readers who want to learn more about the Produttori may want to revisit my article on www.erobertparker.com for notes on a number of the estate’s legendary, benchmark wines. Importer: Vias Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 629-0200