Wine Advisor
Giuseppe Mascarello e Figlio, Barolo Monprivato 2014
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
Mascarello's legendary cru, from this historic 15-acre, southwest-facing plot not far from the town of Castiglione Falletto, never disappoints. The 2014 Barolo Monprivato is as engaging and as individual as I had hoped it would be. Still in its youth, the bouquet reaches out with wild berry and strawberry, and it has started to show unique tones of natural rubber, tropical fruit and peach—not at all what you might expect from a Nebbiolo, but very delicate and elegant nonetheless. Like every Monprivato vintage, it will take years in the bottle to reach its full potential. Still very closed, this one will only just begin to open after the summer.
About the Producer
History Since time immemorial Nebbiolo has been the most highly-prized vine and the wine-growing emblem of Alba and the Langa, and when it is matched with a great wine-making terroir it is capable of expressing itself at sublime levels in wines of remarkable personality, intense bouquet, great smooth tannins, and outstanding possibilities of evolution and resistance over time. The members of the Giuseppe Mascarello family have been growing wines for more than a century and a half, first as farmers running the Manescotto estate in the village of La Morra for the Marchesa Giulia Colbert Faletti di Barolo, and then on their own property since the late 1800s. MAURO MASCARELLO Mauro Mascarello first worked in the winery for many years alongside his father, before taking on the responsibility of running the cellar in Monchiero in 1967, when he also made his first wines. In 1970 he began to vinify the grapes grown on each single vineyard separately, starting with the MONPRIVATO Nebbiolo and then proceeding with the other vineyards. Upon the death of his uncle Natale in 1979, Mauro Mascarello purchased his company, re-uniting it into the Azienda Agricola Giuseppe Mascarello e Figlio. In 1980 he assumed direct responsibility for the family’s MONPRIVATO vineyard, continuing to run it with the same philosophy: application of the techniques that have always been followed to obtain the highest quality of “grape raw material” from every point of view. Famiglia Mascarello Mauro Mascarello's farm is now run with the help of his wife Maria Teresa on the accounts-administration side, and – though not yet full-time – his son Giuseppe, who qualified as a wine technician from the Agricultural and Enological Institute in Alba in 1994. In the years 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1990, a series of purchases completed the ownership of the MONPRIVATO vineyard, and Mauro Mascarello became the only producer of this Barolo cru. The Vineyards The Mascarello family property extends over 15 hectares of vineyards, all located within the Barolo wine-growing area. Some, like the MONPRIVATO vineyard, can now be said to be a part of the family history, while the grapes grown on others were first purchased by Mauro before – having had the opportunity to ascertain their quality – he managed to buy the vineyards for the estate. The Wine The fine wines grown on the Giuseppe Mascarello farm include – alongside Barolo MONPRIVATO – the following Barolos: Bricco, Villero, and Codana from vineyards in Castiglione Falletto, and Santo Stefano di Perno from vineyards in Monforte d’Alba.
