Barolo 2011 150cl

The 2011 Barolo is a very expressive wine with more determination and muscle than you usually get in the wines of Bartolo Mascarello. The bouquet opens to plush flavors of red fruit and cherry with grilled herb, tobacco and mineral delineation. Its structure is yielding and round and the finish is ripe with soft fruit flavors. Make no mistake, it doles out complexity and an ethereal sense of balsam herb, cola and licorice that is the hallmark of this historic estate with a tiny garage winery in the town of Barolo. The alcohol reading here is 14.5% compared to 14% in the 2010 vintage.<br/>The Bartolo Mascarello winery continues faithfully in its long-standing promise of delivering classic expressions of Nebbiolo in its purest form. Among Maria Teresa Mascarello's new releases, I was absolutely smitten by her work with the easy-drinking Freisa grape. I don't expect that this delicate wine will be able to withstand travel to faraway lands. But, if you are enjoying a quick plate of vitello tonnato (thin slices of veal with cream tuna sauce and capers) somewhere during your trip to Piedmont, Freisa makes an excellent pairing companion. It's a bottle to enjoy in situ. In terms of Barolo, the 3,000-square-meter vineyard in San Lorenzo is being replanted and that fruit will not feature in the 2015 Barolo. Bartolo Mascarello's Barolo is usually a blend of fruit from Canubbi, San Lorenzo, Rue, and Rocche di La Morra. The land will be left to rest for two years and replanting will start in 2017. The fist vintage of new San Lorenzo fruit is scheduled for 2020 (at 70% total production) and 100% of the vineyard's fruit will be harvested in 2021. That means we won't be seeing any more San Lorenzo fruit in the Mascarello Barolo until the 2025 release of the wine.

Fascinating aromas of spice, dried fruit, mushrooms, licorice and dried strawberries follow through to a full body with tight and chewy tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Very tannic still. Try in 2021.

A delicate, aromatic style, with floral, sandalwood, cherry, tea and spice flavors. Beautifully balanced and long, with a firm underlying structure. Best from 2018 through 2030. 1,400 cases made.  –BS