2014 Langhe Nebbiolo, Bartolo Mascarello, Piedmont, Italy
About this WINE
Cantina Bartolo Mascarello
Cantina Mascarello Bartolo remains one of the most revered Barolo wine-making domaines. Founded in 1918, its reputation was secured by the late great Bartolo Mascarello and since 2005 by his daughter Maria-Teresa Mascarello, whose first vintage was in 1993.
The 5 hectare domaine lies in the Barolo village on prime sandy calcareous clay Tortonian soils, with the vineyards of Cannubi, San Lorenzo, Rue, & Rocche del Annunziata (La Morra) at its heart. Only one Barolo wine is made, a blend of all the crus, along with some Dolcetto and Barbera.
The style remains staunchly traditional. Vinification takes place in fifty year old cement & wooden cuves, without recourse to yeast or temperature control. The Barolo is aged for approx. 3 years in 25 hl Slavonian botte (all recently replaced), followed by 1 year in bottle prior to release.
Maria-Teresa believes quite simply that the key to great wine is to produce the healthiest, ripest fruit possible. She would also describe herself as (bio) logic & (bio) dynamic! Berrys are fortunate to have a tiny share of the 1,250 cases Barolo produced annually.
Nebbiolo
Nebbiolo is the grape behind the Barolo and Barbaresco wines and is hardly ever seen outside the confines of Piedmont. It takes its name from "nebbia" which is Italian for fog, a frequent phenomenon in the region.
A notoriously pernickety grape, it requires sheltered south-facing sites and performs best on the well-drained calcareous marls to the north and south of Alba in the DOCG zones of Barbaresco and Barolo.
Langhe Nebbiolo is effectively the ‘second wine’ of Piedmont’s great Barolo & Barbarescos. This DOC is the only way Langhe producers can declassify their Barolo or Barbaresco fruit or wines to make an early-drinking style. Unlike Nebbiolo d’Alba, Langhe Nebbiolo can be cut with 15% other red indigenous varieties, such as Barbera or Dolcetto.
Nebbiolo flowers early and ripens late, so a long hang time, producing high levels of sugar, acidity and tannins; the challenge being to harvest the fruit with these three elements ripe and in balance. The best Barolos and Barbarescos are perfumed with aromas of tar, rose, mint, chocolate, liquorice and truffles. They age brilliantly and the very best need ten years to show at their best.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
A blend of 66 percent bought-in fruit from San Rocco Seno d’Elvio and 33 percent from her vineyard in Monrobiola/Bussia, Maria Teresa has benefitted from Barbaresco’s better 2014 season to impart freshness and juiciness to her Langhe Nebbiolo. Indeed it’s very “tutti frutti” and crunchy, with pretty, lively raspberry, freshness and zip. This was vinified in two new large tini. To be bottled this August.
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