2005 Barolo

This wine was tasted as part of a vertical tasting held in London in April 2016. The wines were arranged in five thematic flights. The first flight is designed to prepare the palate with a collection of ready to drink vintages across various periods of the estate’s history.

Bartolo Mascarello passed away in 2005, leaving a huge void. Over the years I was fortunate to spend many hours with Mascarello in his office talking about everything from wine to politics, two of his favorite subjects. Being confined in a wheel chair did not seem to diminish Mascarello's spirits, at least not in front of visitors. The 2005 is the first wine Mascarello's daughter, Maria Teresa made on her own, although she had been taking on a greater role for some time. Since then, she has lifted the family domaine in the upper echelon in Piedmont. The 2005 has been quite strong on both occasions I have had it recently. Harvest was finished by September 23, which is early. As a result, the 2005 started off with austere tannins that are just now beginning to soften.

Bartolo Mascarello was a true icon in Piedmont. Although Mascarello was famous for his wines, he was at least as well known for his outspoken views on everything from winemaking to politics. Mascarello's best wines were legendary, but the quality of what was in the bottle didn't always live up to all of the hype. Against this backdrop, it must have been very difficult for Maria Teresa Mascarello to take over the family winery after her father passed away a few years ago. Not only has Maria Teresa Mascarello suceeded in living up to her father's legacy, she has taken the wines to a new level entirely. The Baroli in particular have been nothing less than stunning here over the last few years. The rebirth of Bartolo Mascarello (the winery) is one of the great, unheralded success stories in Piedmont over the last few years. I urge readers to do whatever they can to taste these great wines. Those who have an interest should make a point to visit the winery and taste from barrel. I also include notes on the 2005 and 2006 Baroli for readers who are curious to see how the wines are developing. The only wine that is disappointing this year is the 2008 Freisa Monrobiolo. The Freisa undergoes a secondary fermentation in bottle and the summer of 2009 did not provide consistently warm enough temperatures for that to happen. The Mascarello Freisa is a staunchly traditional wine and often requires an especially forgiving palate, as is the case with the 2008.

Maria Teresa Mascarello noted that she started picking Barolo on virtually the same day in 2006 and 2005 (September 23 and 24, respectively) and that in the earlier year she finished two days before the rainy spell arrived at the beginning of October. She noted that the 2005s are "distinguished by their elegance," while the 2006s are stronger than the 2005s and a bit like the 2004s "in intensity, body and structure." The 2005 here has turned out very well, but the 2006 seemed five years younger than that wine. In fact, the bottle of '06 I tasted with Maria Teresa struck me as the finest vintage for this classically styled Barolo in a long time. Maria Teresa added that 2007 was a warm, dry year with cool nights, producing perfumed, fruity nebbiolo and barbera. The Mascarello Barolos spend 25 to 30 days on their skins, including pre- and post-fermentation maceration, and although Maria Teresa would like to keep the temperature from exceeding 30oC, her use of cement tanks means that the temperature is different every year-"very artisanal," as she describes it.

Bartolo Mascarello remains an important domaine for hand-made artisan wines that reflect the best of the traditional style of winemaking in Piedmont. Maria Teresa Mascarello makes her Barolo pretty much just as her father did. The grapes are sourced from various estate-owned vineyards in Barolo and La Morra and co-fermented, after which the wine is aged in cask. Since 1995 Mascarello has bottled her Barolo after two and half years in oak rather than three years or more, as remains the prevailing custom among the region's staunchest traditionalists. Not much else has visibly changed at this tiny, venerable property but today the wines are purer, cleaner and more consistent than they have ever been. The 2006, 2007, 2008 Barolos I tasted from cask were all strikingly beautiful in their transparency and expressiveness of three very different vintages. Mascarello devotees have much to look forward to in coming years. In the meantime, the newly-released 2005 Barolo is among the highlights of the vintage.