Cantina Bartolo Mascarello
Barolo Nebbiolo
Barolo, Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy
This is the wine that made me totally fall in love with Piedmont. Still magnificent!!
This is the wine that made me totally fall in love with Piedmont. Still magnificent!!
Dec 17th, 2016Magnum. Loved. A bit wild, too.
Magnum. Loved. A bit wild, too.
May 25th, 2015
A true winner of the weekend, from magnum
A true winner of the weekend, from magnum
Jul 22nd, 2013Gorgeous magnum of 82 Mascarello last night from the generous cellar of Wells Guthrie.
Gorgeous magnum of 82 Mascarello last night from the generous cellar of Wells Guthrie.
Jul 21st, 2013
Follow to learn about our favorite wines & people.
I first traveled to Piedmont in 1997, with my parents and sister. Family trips were a tradition. After visiting relatives, the four of us would take a week off by ourselves. My sister and I took turns choosing the destinations. She picked the art cities and places of culture. One year we rented an apartment in Piazza Santa Croce, in the heart of Florence, and then visited all of the city’s top sites with our own private tour guide. But I liked to eat and drink. I had read a ton about Piedmont and tasted the wines for years. It was a fabulous week. Each day we visited a different town. As usual, I was given the wine list at every restaurant. I was hooked. I spent the next two years preparing for my next trip. It happened in 2000, right after Italy lost the Euro football championship to France at the very last second.
Bartolo Mascarello is the first producer I met and visited with in Piedmont. The funny thing is that I had originally intended to visit Mauro Mascarello, but I called the wrong number, and ended up at the iconic small cantina on Via Roma in the heart of Barolo instead. We spent several hours in Bartolo Mascarello’s small office talking about everything from wine to politics. Mostly politics. Although Mascarello was confined to a wheelchair, his imagination and energy had no bounds. The hours passed by lazily. Back then, all of the attention, both from media and tourists, was centered on the modernist producers. I never saw other visitors at the cantina, and you could buy as much wine as you wanted. To say things have changed since then is a massive understatement. Maria Teresa Mascarello took over after her father’s passing and has since propelled the domaine to unprecedented heights. A lucky visitor today may have an opportunity to buy a single bottle, if an appointment is granted at all.
A few months after that visit, we found a bottle of the 1982 Barolo in one of Mantova’s best restaurants. I can still remember tasting that wine, and how incredibly pure it was. Now, all these years later, the 1982 is much further along in its life. Even so, the wine’s complexity and persistence are the things dreams are made of. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, May 2018)
I first traveled to Piedmont in 1997, with my parents and sister. Family trips were a tradition. After visiting relatives, the four of us would take a week off by ourselves. My sister and I took turns choosing the destinations. She picked the art cities and places of culture. One year we rented an apartment in Piazza Santa Croce, in the heart of Florence, and then visited all of the city’s top sites with our own private tour guide. But I liked to eat and drink. I had read a ton about Piedmont and tasted the wines for years. It was a fabulous week. Each day we visited a different town. As usual, I was given the wine list at every restaurant. I was hooked. I spent the next two years preparing for my next trip. It happened in 2000, right after Italy lost the Euro football championship to France at the very last second.
Bartolo Mascarello is the first producer I met and visited with in Piedmont. The funny thing is that I had originally intended to visit Mauro Mascarello, but I called the wrong number, and ended up at the iconic small cantina on Via Roma in the heart of Barolo instead. We spent several hours in Bartolo Mascarello’s small office talking about everything from wine to politics. Mostly politics. Although Mascarello was confined to a wheelchair, his imagination and energy had no bounds. The hours passed by lazily. Back then, all of the attention, both from media and tourists, was centered on the modernist producers. I never saw other visitors at the cantina, and you could buy as much wine as you wanted. To say things have changed since then is a massive understatement. Maria Teresa Mascarello took over after her father’s passing and has since propelled the domaine to unprecedented heights. A lucky visitor today may have an opportunity to buy a single bottle, if an appointment is granted at all.
A few months after that visit, we found a bottle of the 1982 Barolo in one of Mantova’s best restaurants. I can still remember tasting that wine, and how incredibly pure it was. Now, all these years later, the 1982 is much further along in its life. Even so, the wine’s complexity and persistence are the things dreams are made of. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, May 2018)
A bit of funk up front that needed to blow off. Decanted for 2 hours. Layers never ended - currant, tart cherry, wild mushroom.
Silky smooth, plenty of backbone left. Fruit for years. Improved in the glass over 2 hours. Many, many years ahead for this vintage. Amazing experience.
A bit of funk up front that needed to blow off. Decanted for 2 hours. Layers never ended - currant, tart cherry, wild mushroom.
Silky smooth, plenty of backbone left. Fruit for years. Improved in the glass over 2 hours. Many, many years ahead for this vintage. Amazing experience.