Bartolo Mascarello, Barolo

Still a bit wound up with a feral character I’ve never noted with this producer. Not over-ripe or warm in any sense. This vintage may be a bit better than expected when all is said and done and I’ve extended my drinking window accordingly. This calls for wild game or a hearty pasta sauce.

2009 vintage

Noticeably translucent next to the more opaque 2007 and somewhat toned down compared to its slightly older flight mate. For some reason it reminded me of the Kinks C-O-L-A cola. Really nice balance with a hint of truffle to go with the cherry cola. The 2009 is relatively light and diaphanous, nuanced and finessed; a cerebral Bartolo

2009 vintage

Needs two hours of air but after that this is glorious.

2008 vintage

Barolo 2015 tasting, 2 best votes and 0 worst votes. Starts a little cautious on the nose but sings beautifully after an hour in the glass. Velvety mouthfeel, extremely elegant with great complexity. refreshing acidity, amazing wine! WOTN in my book

2015 vintage

How Will Modern Piedmont Age - 2020 | 2015 | 2010 Survey (Verve - Chicago, IL) : Wow, love the effusive nose here, which is a lot like the 2020. Palate is approachable and expressive with refined structure that is seamlessly intertwined with the fruit. Incredible balance. A generational wine that is showing reasonably well but nowhere near peak drinking. Upside from here.

2015 vintage

Amazingly floral bouquet with menthol, herbs, violets, roses. Well balanced, drinking great but will continue getting better.

2008 vintage

Very good although not as great as some other bottles. Still rather young and a bit shutdown tonight.

2008 vintage

Dark ruby in color. Bright cherry, wild flower, and balsamic notes define a nose that announces a palate of red fruit and minerals. Open and lovely tonight but with plenty of upside. Very good.

2015 vintage

What a splendid wine this is, on so many levels. First, as wine, taken on its own, the reviews on site do a fine job in describing the multiple layers to this wine. It took me two days to start to work it out, if I really did. I read a description of this wine as having Burgundy like qualities and I must admit my first thought was 'Yes, except that it is truly complex and great'. I find that …

2008 vintage

Medium ruby with light brick at the rim. Darker fruit profile than the Altare and clearly from a warmer year. Concentrated but retains the Bartolo finesse — hints of dried florals and early truffle development. The structure is excellent: firm, grippy tannins and vibrant acidity energize a powerful mid-palate. Red cherry with a balsamic nuance. Very long and vertical. Still far from peak. Patience will reward with more aromatic complexity and nuance. Drink 2030–2050

2009 vintage

98 !!!

2008 vintage

Approaching perfection

2008 vintage

This bottle had some maggi notes that blew off more and more over time. Hard to give a definitive score

2008 vintage

The 2015 Barolo is young but accessible with rich dark fruit flavors. It’s beautifully balanced, fresh, and full-bodied. Enjoyable now, but it will also age nicely.

2015 vintage

Notes from a lovely dinner at 67 Pall Mall in London 2000 Monte Bello Ridge: 93 pts. Very smooth. Cigar, coffee and some black fruits. 1999 Lynch Bages: 94 pts. In a beautiful place. Smooth and elegant with lots of secondary and tertiary elements. At least 5–10 years ahead of it. 2005 Lynch Bages: 95 pts. Probably a better wine in the longer run than the ‘99, but still young. A long glorious life ahead. 2009 Clos Vougeot Alain Hudelot: …

2015 vintage

Young and wound up still, but already showing really nice delicate fruit and soft focused tannins. Definitely better with air, and really deserves a few more years in the bottle, but lovely wine.

2015 vintage

Oh my, oh my, oh my. This is extraordinary. There’s such life and freshness on the nose. The initial soft red berry fruits soon add darker aspects, and quickly we’re into menthol, balsam and tar. There’s a bit of rose water over the top and generally, just a sense of continually developing complexity. The palate is quite a shock as even at 17 years it presents with remarkably youthful and vivid intensity, recalling red and black berry coulis and compote …

2008 vintage

Dinner with the wine group (Cindy's Place) : Impeccable balance, cherry, some tar, slight roses; palate is light bodied, high tannin which still needs food; medium-plus finish. Alcohol is in check especially for the year. Really lovely Barolo. 92

2009 vintage

Bouchonnée !

2009 vintage

Enticing and delightful straight from open. Perfumed and super elegant on the nose. Initially lots of cherry. But then much more classical nebbiolo with roses and tar. Lovely red fruits on the palate. Cherry. Strawberry. Tannins and soft and integrated. Long finish. Remans fairly consistent over the course of the bottle.

2004 vintage

A nose reminiscent of a Burgundy infusion, with floral notes, red fruits, sweet spices, and undergrowth. The palate is magnificently precise and refined. I would be very curious to include this type of Nebbiolo in a tasting for the Burgundian aristocracy. This wine is full of nuance, with a delicate texture, lacy balsamic notes, a floral touch, and a suspended juice that required two hours of aeration to fully express itself. The wine unfolds in layers, still with this dominant …

2008 vintage

At a blindtasting 6 guests voted for Pinot noir, eventually from California !! The warm vintage broke through. Well balanced sweet dark fruits in both nose end mouth. Drink within 4 years!

2009 vintage

First st sip was tight and light, Immediately decanted for an hour. Returned to full bodied luscious big balanced violet tobacco cherry rose flint. Can age or decant longer. Last sip was the best.

2015 vintage

This bottle was opened at cellar temperature. Immediately pleasing after opening. No decanting required. Aromas jump from the glass - tar, roses, cedar. On the palate, so well-balanced. Medium + tannins, medium + acidity. Long finish. Still needs food. Paired with a tomato, basil, spinach, pasta with garlic, onion, and olive oil. This is in a perfect spot now but not the least bit tired. I suspect it is good for 5-10 more years if stored properly.

2009 vintage

Beautiful Barolo. Balanced, elegant. 90 minute decant was great--could have used 2 hours.

2008 vintage

Opened this magnum bottle to celebrate my 76th birthday with some friends. It was a real treat, my friends were blown away. I opened a few hours into a decanter and the applause began immediately after it was poured and tasted. Dark cherry and licorice notes.

2009 vintage

A brilliant edition of Bartolo -- bright red fruit and lovely overall elegance. Still quite young inasmuch as the tannins are a bit coarse and grainy, but the crystalline nature of the fruit is on full display here, along with a lovely floral perfume. Very clearly a wine that can stand to age further, but it is no waste to enjoy a bottle now.

2001 vintage

Decanted 5 hours, and then consumed over the following 5 hours. The aromas began quite generous, showing a lot of eucalyptus, vibrant red berry tones, soil, graphite, and spice. Was best at 5 hours in the decanter, where it displayed all those loveliness's, but also showed a tightness that was quite compelling. It's a bit more open at 10 hours. Palate entry is soft, smooth and caressing in body. Beautiful and soft. Lovely integrated acidity and spice... the fruit here …

2015 vintage

Just a magnificent vintage where only 2004 drinks better right now. All the best qualities of Bartolos hedonistic style in its very best and most stylist dress. I think this is probably the greatest 2008 Barolo vintage! Conterno, Rinaldi, Vietti doesn't reach this level in 2008 imo.

2008 vintage

Was outshone by 1999 mascarello monprivato on this night

2008 vintage

Giacosa with Riccardo Campinoti (Hearth Restaurant, NYC) : [Double-decanted at 8am.] Gorgeous nose of sweet red and black fruit. A very different style of wine from the others tonight, but wonderful in its own way. Long and complex. Lovely now and for at least another decade.

2008 vintage

advanced, lots os secondary

2008 vintage

3 hours of air and then two hour decant Distinct aromas of roses, dried strawberries, wet wood balsamic tones. Light color, somewhat tight, Jerry toned and lengthy but not deep, hopefully will relax with time.

2009 vintage

Wonderful, fragrant and lovely. Fairly accessible - soft dark fruit - black cherry, licorice, then violets and rose petal. Excellent youthful Barolo that is drinking pretty well now. Got better with every sip, good till the last drop.

2009 vintage

Nebbiolo 2004 Tasting (Lake Side Emotions) : This bottle showed some signs of premature oxidation (maderization) on opening, with vegetal notes, licorice, and nutty tones dominating initially. With air, it began to improve—cherry fruit emerged, along with delicate rose petals and classic tar aromatics. Still, it never fully opened up or reached the expressiveness expected from this vintage and producer. Likely bottle variation, but disappointing in this showing.

2004 vintage

BYO Centropa "Best wine and Unicorn" (Centropa, Oslo, Norge) : Rik, stram, bærpreget duft av moreller og kirsebær, hint av fat og vanilje. Sødmefull i anslaget, rik og konsentrert smak av røde bær med florale toner. Enormt tanninrik og erketypisk stram nebbiolo, heftig som fy! Dette blir vel krevende å drikke uten matfølge. Den hadde også (som Cappellano Piè Rupestris 1999 og 2008) virkelig fortjent et solid kjøttstykke!

2009 vintage

Decanted half and kept rest in mag. In good condition but disappointing, verging towards mature oxidative notes but still unpleasant tannins. Not much to it.

2001 vintage

Bartolo and Burlotto Cannubi and More (Chez Goldberg, Greenwich Village, NYC) : [Double-decanted at 2:30pm.] Surprisingly sweet and open for a 2004. A little more structure, but similar to the 1999. Another great wine that should drink well for 20 years or more.

2004 vintage

Saturday night Piedmont dinner at the Goldbergs' A beautiful nose with balsam, roses, cherry fruit. Terrific perfume. It’ s expansive and sapid on the palate, with terrific palate presence. Depth and breadth with a sense of inner calm. The fruit is a little cooler than the ’05. Again with a sense of minerality and focus. What I loved the most about this was its sense of harmony and calm. Many at the table preferred the 05 (a brilliant wine) tonight, …

2004 vintage

Bartolo and Burlotto Cannubi and More (Chez Goldberg, Greenwich Village, NYC) : [Double-decanted at 1pm.] Stunning, sweet, black cherry nose. Expansive, with great length and structure and plenty of rich fruit. WOTN for me. Wow! If you have a bottle, give it a try. An amazing wine in an underrated vintage.

2008 vintage

Alt Festa Saturday Piedmont dinner at the Goldbergs' And then there was one. A haunting nose with cool fruit, violet as much as rose, tar, balsam, and more than anything a sense of nuance and mystery. There is a fleeting delicacy and hard to describe mystery to this wine on the nose and palate. It's deep and vertical, effortlessly conveying power with a sense of grace and poise. This is the iron fist on a velvet glove. The palate continues …

2008 vintage

Stylistically this is a bit of an outlier from most of the 11 vintages tasted tonight. Darker fruit profile and more ripe/concentrated in nature though still has the Bartolo refinement you'd expect. Just barely starting to show some dried florals and truffles. Better in 10-12+ years. 93-95 points.

2009 vintage

sadly, corked.

2004 vintage

Impromptu Bartolo (Chicago, IL) : Corked.

2004 vintage

Impromptu Bartolo (Chicago, IL) : A real shame I don't have any of this. It's a very distinct wine from all the other younger ones in that the fruit is clearly of a very dark profile. More black than red, quite tannic, sweet, and plush. Kind of "hedonistic" in style for Bartolo with its juicy fruit, but really easy to drink now with a svelte, elegant palate with mostly resolved tannins. Just plain delicious, and one of my favourites tonight.

2009 vintage

Barolo Nigt at Cave du Théatre (La cave du Théâtre Clermont Ferrand France) : Well the line up was very impressive but that one really stood out China ink on the nose, Blueberry muffin, density, black and dark berries, one really intense nose of cold areas of the Barolo dominates here. Palate is tight, sharp and refreshing, with intense flavors and ripe but salivating tannins, too young but great wine !!! Will be a stunner in 5/8 even more maybe.

2015 vintage

Really pretty nose of rose and cherries. Palate right at first but opened up to show lovely fruit and depth, moderate complexity with soy, earth, red fruit. Long and well balanced.

2001 vintage

Opened around noon and drunk over dinner with friends next to Brovia's Rocche. No TN, from memory. Second bottle drunk within a week. This is a great Barolo (see my note below) no question, but this time I liked Brovia's Rocche better. With respect to the other bottle of a week earlier, this had a more mature character and didn't show the same bright, shining fruit of the other bottle. Always a privilege to drink this.

2008 vintage

Drank this bottle on Christmas Day after a 5 hour decant. Overall, I really liked the 2009 but it didn't have the wow factor I had hoped for. Granted this was the first time I have tried a Bartolo Mascarello I was still expecting a show stopper. The tannins and fruit were well balanced and the texture of the wine was softer than most other Barolo's I have tried. After a couple days of thinking about the Bartolo experience, on …

2009 vintage

Rich, textural expression of vibrant red fruits. You see the usual suspects of menthol and rose petal water add lift and elegance to the wine. Clove, tangerine peel and cherry skin add the bitterness that contrast the juicy sweetness of the core of the palate. The first time I had this wine, I didn't feel like I saw the full extent of where the wine was going yet. This time around, with sufficient aeration and patience of consumption over multiple …

2015 vintage

Are you sure?

Bartolo Mascarello, Barolo

Vintages

No vintages

Community Reviews