Wine Advisor
Bartolo Mascarello, Barolo 2004
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Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
2004 Barolo—The 2004, which I tasted from two separate casks (one newer and one older), shows richer color, and more delineated aromas along with layered, nuanced flavors very much in the style of the vintage, with superb length and a fresh, inviting finish.. This too offers outstanding potential. (88-91), 11/05 Maria Theresa Mascarello has two beautiful wines in her cellar with these 2003 and 2004 Barolos. In particular her 2003 Barolo could turn out to be one of the vintage’s top wines….if she can capture the magic of what she has in cask when these wines are ultimately bottled. My cautious scores reflect some skepticism that these wines will be as good in the bottle as they are in cask, but I hope to be wrong. Today these are gorgeous wines and scores could eventually be higher.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
“2004 is the first normal vintage I can remember in a while,” says Maria Theresa Mascarello. “We were finished with our Nebbiolo harvest on the 12th of October.” Her pure, finessed 2004 Barolo offers a compelling array of perfumed violets, dark cherries and baking spices with superb clarity and delineation. A weightless, ethereal Barolo, it reveals notable freshness and supple tannins on the long, finessed finish. Although I have tasted this wine many times from cask, I first encountered it from bottle at a blind tasting where it was immediately recognizable for its style, purity and class. This is the best young Barolo I have tasted here in many a year. Fans of traditional Barolo won’t want to miss this superb effort. The 2004 Barolo was fermented for 20-30 days in cement. The malos progressed at an unusually slow pace and weren’t finished until the following summer. The wine was aged in medium-sized casks. Readers can also look forward to promising wines in 2005, 2006 and 2007. I also had a chance to re-taste the 2003, which is a lovely Barolo for nearer-term consumption. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2029. Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 332-4999
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Sensual, silky and totally alluring, the 2004 Barolo is another wine that is a picture-perfect example of its vintage. The aromatics alone are captivating, but it is the wine’s total balance that places it in the upper echelon. After some of the ups and downs of the 1980s and 1990s’ wines, the 2004 really shows where the estate is today in terms of quality.
About the Producer
Bartolo Mascarello, located in the famous Barolo region of Piedmont, is one of Italy's leading wineries, founded in 1918 and run by the Mascarello family, defenders of the old school style of Barolo, and owned by the legendary Maria Teresa Mascarello. The current owner is Maria Teresa Mascarello, daughter of the legendary master winemaker Bartolo Mascarello. The winery's winemaking philosophy has been passed down from generation to generation and does not follow the trend of making single vineyard wines, insisting on concrete and wooden barrel fermentations without temperature control measures. The wine is aged in 2,500 litres of Slovenian vats for three years and then bottled for one year before being released, producing a wine of great structure and great elegance and refinement. Bartolo Mascarello produces around 30,000 bottles of wine a year, of which the Barolo DOCG is produced in very small quantities (around 1,250 cases a year) and, as the benchmark of traditional Barolo wines, is often priced out of the market and hard to find.
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