The 1998 Barbaresco Crichet Paje is the estate’s top bottling from its home vineyard and this selection does not disappoint. It is an awesome effort, revealing a dark violet color and heady notes of menthol, minerals, black cherries, chocolate and cocoa along with masses of dark fruit that coat the palate with notable intensity as well as precision. This big, weighty Barbaresco is seriously in need of additional bottle age and should drink well to at least age 25. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2028. Importer: Louis Dressner Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 334-8191.