1998 | Bartolo Mascarello | Barolo

The bouquet is deep, very complex and classy, as it offers up scents of black cherries, game, camphor, fresh herb tones, incipient sous bois, black tea and woodsmoke in the upper register. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and youthfully complex, with fine mid-palate depth, still a fair bit of ripe, well-integrated tannin, and lovely length and grip on the tangy, tarry and classic finish.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: The quintessential traditionalist, Bartolo Mascarello's 1998 Barolo reveals a deceivingly unimpressive plum/garnet/ruby color. However, the aromatics explode from the glass offering scents of Chinese black tea, licorice, black cherries, tar, and truffles. In the mouth, it is sweet, fleshy, powerful, and heady with exquisite purity as well as symmetry. This wine's aromas and flavors will convince readers that Nebbiolo is the Pinot Noir of Italy. It will undoubtedly tighten after bottling, re-emerge in 4-5 years, and age well for nearly two decades.

• Vinous: Bartolo Mascarello's 1998 Barolo is another of the more weightless, ethereal wines in the vintage. Sweet tobacco, earthiness, plums and prunes flow in a soft, elegant style. This is another Barolo that is simply delicious today, although readers seeking a more developed, tertiary experience may want to give the wine a few more years in bottle.

Producer Information

Bartolo Mascarello (officially known as Cantina Mascarello Bartolo) is a revered wine producer based in the town of Barolo in Piedmont, Italy. The estate was founded in 1918 and brought to prominence by the eponymous Bartolo Mascarello, who died in 2005. It is now run by his daughter Maria-Teresa Mascarello. The estate is particularly known for its traditionally-made Barolo wines. Indeed, much of Bartolo Mascarello's enduring reputation outside of his wines was forged around his staunch resistance to the so-called "modernisation" of winemaking in the Barolo region. At a time when many fashionable estates were turning to small, French oak barriques and shorter maceration times, Mascarello retained 30 to 50-day maceration and the traditional large-format Slavonian oak tuns, or "botti". As well as being a vocal opponent of the modern movement in the region, Mascarello also resisted the more recent fashion for single-vineyard releases. He was also known for his opposition to right-wing Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi, making headlines in the early 21st Century by releasing the "No barrique, no Berlusconi" labeled Barolo. "No Barrique, because I am against the use of barriques in Barolo – I am a traditional producer. No Berlusconi because I don’t like his type of politics," he told Decanter magazine in 2002. The label has gone on to become a collector's item. Mascarello's outspoken stances were nonetheless combined with much critical praise for his wines – the latter a record Maria-Teresa Mascarello has retained. Elegant and floral with great finesse, Mascarello wines continue to be considered among Barolo's greatest, and fetch some of the highest prices in the appellation. The estate itself covers just five hectares (12 acres) of vines, made up of small parcels in the Canubbi (one hectare/2.5 acres), San Lorenzo (0.25 hectares/0.6 acres) and Rué (0.25 hectares/0.6 acres) vineyards, and 1.2 hectares (three acres) in Rocche del Annunziata in La Morra. The lone Barolo label is a blend of these different crus. Cantina Bartolo Mascarello also makes some Dolcetto and Barbera wines as well as a Langhe Freisa and Langhe Nebiolo. The winemaking style remains very traditional, with vinification and maceration in old cement and wooden vats with no temperature control. The Barolo is aged in traditional 2500 litre Slavonian oak botti for three years, followed by 12 months in the bottle before release. Production is tiny with only around 1250 cases of Barolo produced each year. Cantina Mascarello Bartolo should not be confused with a number of other, relatively well-known, Mascarello wineries in the area.

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