2001 Barolo Villero

Mauro Mascarello is one of the few remaining traditionalist producers in Barolo. Mascarello owns what is surely one of the most prized vineyards in all of Piedmont, Monprivato, which occupies a stupendous position, sheltered by Bricco Boschis to the north and Bricco Rocche to the south. From this 6 hectare monopole holding Mascarello produces his Barolo Monprivato, a wine of tremendous aging potential which has been among the region's benchmark wines for decades.Mascarello's Barolos are vinified along traditional lines, with fermentation lasting 18-20 days in years with less structure to 20-25 days in more important vintages. The wines then do malolactic in steel and are aged for 36 months in large Slavonian oak casks of various sizes. The wines are bottled without clarification or filtration in the summer of the fourth year following the harvest. Mascarello's Riserva Ca'd' Morissio spends anywhere between 48-52 months in oak and is released when Mascarello feels the wine is ready. Of the terroirs Mascarello works with, Villero is the most feminine, early maturing and easy to understand. Santo Stefano gives the biggest, most old-style wines, with tannins that can sometimes seem quite hard and rough, while Monprivato is somewhere in the middle. When Monprivato is young its tannins and general lack of color can make it a tough wine to evaluate. But make no mistake about it, Monprivato is one of the most long-lived, expressive and profound Barolos around. Among the top Barolo bottlings, it also remains one of the best relative values in the region.