It was recently suggested to me by a good wine friend that I try the Bartolo Mascarello Dolcetto d'Alba 2011 vintage. Since the store I work for had started carrying this wine, it was pretty easy to get a hold of, and so this past weekend I finally decided to bring a bottle home. Not knowing much at all about this producer, I decided to do a little research. Here is what I learned:
The Mascarello family began producing wine in 1918 when Giulio Mascarello returned from World War I to find a destitute Barolo wine industry. Giulio decided the best way to rectify the situation was to produce his own wine instead of selling it off to negociants who would blend it with inferior products. He was one of the first of his kind as most producers sold their wine in large demijohns (usually glass carboys of five or ten gallons) to restaurants or other consumers who bottled it themselves. Little by little, he acquired property around the towns of La Morra and Barolo. By 1960, Giulio's son, Bartolo was heavily involved in production and took over management of the estate. Giulio died in 1981, leaving his son in charge. And today, Bartolo's daughter Maria Teresa runs the business as he passed away in 2005. Through all the transitions, the winery has maintained the traditional style of producing wine in the Barolo region.
Above all, I found out that I was extremely lucky to find a bottle of this incredible wine. Not only are they an extremely small producer, owning just five hectares of property (roughly 2.5 acres) but as I mentioned, they produce everything in the traditional style: concrete tank fermentation, large Slavonian oak cask aging, no barrique, and blended wines, not single vineyard. The Barolo wines are also aged for an extended amount of time, three years in cask and another year in the bottle before being released.
The wine itself screams traditional to the core. It is pure and unadulterated in its expression and rich with conventional Piemonte flavors: dusty cherry, smoky blueberry, hints of anise and mushroom, with the perfect amount of tannic grip to give this wine just the right amount of structure. It is elegant in its simplicity, yet profound in the way it lingers, waiting for you to take another sip. I can taste the tagliatelle and parmesan traditional to the Piemonte region when I drink this wine but it needs no accompaniment since it carries all the grace it needs to be enjoyed through and through.
The Mascarello family began producing wine in 1918 when Giulio Mascarello returned from World War I to find a destitute Barolo wine industry. Giulio decided the best way to rectify the situation was to produce his own wine instead of selling it off to negociants who would blend it with inferior products. He was one of the first of his kind as most producers sold their wine in large demijohns (usually glass carboys of five or ten gallons) to restaurants or other consumers who bottled it themselves. Little by little, he acquired property around the towns of La Morra and Barolo. By 1960, Giulio's son, Bartolo was heavily involved in production and took over management of the estate. Giulio died in 1981, leaving his son in charge. And today, Bartolo's daughter Maria Teresa runs the business as he passed away in 2005. Through all the transitions, the winery has maintained the traditional style of producing wine in the Barolo region.
Above all, I found out that I was extremely lucky to find a bottle of this incredible wine. Not only are they an extremely small producer, owning just five hectares of property (roughly 2.5 acres) but as I mentioned, they produce everything in the traditional style: concrete tank fermentation, large Slavonian oak cask aging, no barrique, and blended wines, not single vineyard. The Barolo wines are also aged for an extended amount of time, three years in cask and another year in the bottle before being released.
The wine itself screams traditional to the core. It is pure and unadulterated in its expression and rich with conventional Piemonte flavors: dusty cherry, smoky blueberry, hints of anise and mushroom, with the perfect amount of tannic grip to give this wine just the right amount of structure. It is elegant in its simplicity, yet profound in the way it lingers, waiting for you to take another sip. I can taste the tagliatelle and parmesan traditional to the Piemonte region when I drink this wine but it needs no accompaniment since it carries all the grace it needs to be enjoyed through and through.
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