Wine Advisor
Elio Grasso, Barolo Ginestra Casa Mate 2017
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
Soils in the Ginestra vineyard show more moisture-retaining clay in their composition, making them better positioned to handle hot and dry vintages such as this. The Elio Grasso 2017 Barolo Ginestra Casa Maté reveals soft concentration and extra richness; however, the aromatic nuances are well intact. I recall that the previous 2016 vintage took longer to come into focus, whereas this 2017 expression is open-knit and immediately accessible. The fruit is front and center, and the wine slides over the palate with a silky texture. Managing the tannins in 2017 was not easy, but this wine proves that lasting balance is not out of reach.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2017 Barolo Ginestra Casa Matè is a dark, mysterious wine. Black cherry, menthol, tobacco, licorice, spice, new leather and pine meld together in a super-classic expression of Ginestra. Deep, rich and enveloping, the 2017 is so impressive in the early going. Here, too, the finesse of the tannins is remarkable.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
This is really transparent with sweet strawberries, flowers and orange peel, as well as some conifer and pine-nut undertones. Full-bodied and layered with intense young tannins, intertwined with bright fruit. Great finish. This is really something else. Needs time to soften, of course. Try after 2025.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2017 Barolo Ginestra Casa Matè is a dark, mysterious wine. Black cherry, menthol, tobacco, licorice, spice, new leather and pine meld together in a super-classic expression of Ginestra. Deep, rich and enveloping, the 2017 is so impressive in the early going. Here, too, the finesse of the tannins is remarkable.
About the Producer
Elio Grasso’s History Born within an old family of Monforte d’Alba with substantial vineyards in the prestigious parts of the town, Grasso may seem destined for a career as a Barolo producer . But instead he chose a different path, at least in the early stages of adult life, choosing to work in the world of finance and living an urban existence that was decidedly different from that of the rural world in which he was born and raised. The wines of Elio Grasso The call of the land, however, eventually proved strong, and the return to Monforte d’Alba was probably only a matter of time. And what he returned to was in fact an impressive patrimony: 18 hectares of vineyards that include first-rate sites such as Chiniera , Casa Matè , and Runcot . Grasso, in fact, just in 1978, decided to ferment and age on his own the grapes of his best plots and was a pioneer in selling both a regular Barolo and also a series of crus . As a producer, Grasso has always been attentive to tradition, but, given the important experiences linked to the numerous generations of his family in the area, he has never wanted to radically transform his wines: both Chiniera and Casa Matè are aged in barrels; only the Runcot , a Riserva , ages in small barrels. Innovation, on the other hand, is represented by two other wines from the line: the excellent Barbera Martina aged in barrels and Educato , a Chardonnay fermented in barrels.
