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Description
Tasting notes

Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The Bartolo Mascarello 2012 Barolo is a beautiful wine that is endowed by a deep sense of purity and clarity. What else should you expect from the producer whose name is forever linked to the definition of traditional Barolo? The wine is vibrant and elegant with an evident sense of inner grace that translates to both the nose and the mouthfeel. Silky and polished, the wine reveals delicate tones of wild rose, forest berry, licorice, dried ginger and cola. Maria Teresa Mascarello used the word "fragile" to describe this vintage and I think it is a poetically appropriate term for this wine.

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
We start with the 2012 Barolo from Bartolo Mascarello, which is everything I expect. Perfumed, gracious and utterly sublime, the 2012 is all nuance. It is a real treat to taste and drink after two weeks of tasting embryonic six-month-old Bordeaux. It is also absolutely gorgeous with some of the lighter first courses on the menu. I can see the bewildered faces of my guests, all them native or adopted Bordeaux locals. “How can a wine be so light and yet deliver so much depth and persistence?” That, in a nutshell is what Nebbiolo is all about.

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2012 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo is just sublime. All finesse and silkiness in the glass, the 2012 is another reminder of what makes Barolo such a sensual and alluring wine. Best of all, the 2012 is not going to require years to be at its best. It is hugely delicious right now.

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Freshly cut flowers, mint, raspberry and red stone fruits all lift from the glass in the Maria-Theresa Mascarello's 2012 Barolo. Silky, open-knit and gracious, the 2012 is surprisingly delicious today. This is a decidedly mid-weight, approachable Barolo that is already quite open and delicious. Best of all, the 2012 won't need years to come together. Mascarello fans should buy the 2012 to drink over the near and medium-term, while some of the more structured vintages age in the cellar. A model of grace and finesse, the 2012 is striking in its beauty, even if it clearly doesn't have the depth or multi-dimensional personality of the very best years.

Reviewed by: James Suckling
Incredibly open and complex with cedar, dried roses, plums and strawberries. Some toffee, too. Medium to full body, with fabulously polished tannins that give a fine, creamy texture, yet driven and energetic. Love the finish. Drink now.

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
We start with the 2012 Barolo from Bartolo Mascarello, which is everything I expect. Perfumed, gracious and utterly sublime, the 2012 is all nuance. It is a real treat to taste and drink after two weeks of tasting embryonic six-month-old Bordeaux. It is also absolutely gorgeous with some of the lighter first courses on the menu. I can see the bewildered faces of my guests, all them native or adopted Bordeaux locals. “How can a wine be so light and yet deliver so much depth and persistence?” That, in a nutshell is what Nebbiolo is all about.
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.