Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino DOCG
€ 1.512,50 NO VAT (private collection)
Elio Altare Barolo Unoperuno DOCG
€ 306,00 NO VAT (private collection)
€ 315,00 NO VAT (private collection)
The 2018 Barolo is a wine of extreme elegance and nuance. Dried red cherry, tobacco, dried flowers, mint and sweet spice are all nicely lifted in this sublime, delicate Barolo. All the elements fall into place so effortlessly. The 2018 naturally does not have the body of more important years, but it offers tons of persistence and fine balance. It has closed down quite a bit since I first tasted it a few months ago, which is probably a good sign. An opened bottle just got better and better over time.
2 in stock
Maria Teresa Mascarello’s 2021 Barolo is a quintessential wine for the vintage in its pliant fruit and understated depth. Harvest took place between the first and second week of October. The 2021 saw 48 days on the skins with submerged cap maceration before being racked into cask in November. Mascarello’s entry-level wines are equally inviting, although small production makes them hard to find and pricier in the market than they really should be.
| Vintage | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Begin consume | 2025 |
| End Consume | 2039 |
| Size | 750ml |
| Color | Red |
| Variety | Nebbiolo |
| Closure | Cork |
| Alcohol % vol. | 13 to 14% |
| Category | Dry |
| Producer | Bartolo Mascarello |
| Designation | Unknown |
| Vineyard | Unknown |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Piedmont |
| Sub-Region | Langhe |
| Appellation | Barolo |
| Typification | Private (Wine from a private collection – invoice without VAT) |
| SKU | 4166767 |
| Categories | Private, Red Wine |
The 2018 Sassicaia is fabulous. Bright and beautifully poised, the 2018 opens with brilliant aromatics that make a strong first impression. Delicate and light on its feet, the 2018 is a regal wine that is going to need a number of years to come into its own. Sassicaia is the most finessed of Bolgheri’s top wines. That is very much the case in 2018 as well. I loved it. A cold winter led to a late spring and delayed start to the year. May and June saw some heat, but only moderate temperatures. Only July was truly warm, with minimal diurnal shifts. Cool winds arrived again in August, and temperatures dropped quickly, especially at night. Mid-August saw some rain. Harvest started on September 7 with the Franc and wrapped up on the 29th with the last of Cabernet Sauvignon. The year favored the estate’s oldest vineyards, those on hillside sites. The 2018 spent 19 months in oak, two-thirds new, a bit more new oak than the norm. The blend is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Franc, a bit less Franc than is often the case, as Franc suffered more under the conditions of the season.
The 2015 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is magical. This is the first vintage that includes fruit from Arione, so the 2015 is 80% Francia and 20% Arione. That marks a return to Monfortino as a multi-vineyard wine, which it mostly was until 1978, when the first Monfortino from Francia was made. The combination of sites works so well. I remember tasting the 2015 as separate components and seeing what exactly the Arione piece adds, and that is aromatic explosiveness, texture and breadth. Rose petal, mint, sage, tobacco and cedar lend complexity. More than anything else, though, I am blown away by how utterly delicious the 2015 is. Of course, the 2015 will be better in time, but its pedigree is plainly evident today. Roberto Conterno gave the 2015 just five years in cask, the shortest time in wood for any Monfortino in recent memory, maybe ever. Like most producers around the world, Conterno is thinking deeply about what the optimal period of time in oak is. As for the 2015, it is a flat-out stunner in every way.
