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Giuseppe Mascarello
www.mascarello1881.com
Mauro Mascarello walking in Monprivato.
Mauro Mascarello walking in Monprivato.


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Giuseppe Mascarello Information Sheet
Country of Origin: Italy
Location: Barolo
People: Mauro & Giuseppe Mascarello, Winemaker & Owner
Supplier: http://www.rarewineco.com


The first decade of the new millennium has been an important moment for Piedmont's venerable Giuseppe Mascarello estate.

With the world increasingly enchanted by the magic of classic Barolo, the estate's legendary Barolo Monprivato has emerged as one of the region's crown jewels—while its maker, the equally legendary Mauro Mascarello, is increasingly regarded as an Italian national treasure.

Such acclaim is long overdue for a winemaker whose track record dates back more than four decades. But it was also inevitable: now that Giovanni Conterno and Bartolo Mascarello are gone, he is the last of his generation of great classically inspired winemakers in Barolo.

Like Giovanni and Bartolo, Mauro is a traditionalist dedicated to long fermentations and aging in old botti. But he has also made important changes, not the least of which was the creation of a single Barolo from the great Monprivato vineyard in 1970. Prior to that year, his family had always made their towering Barolos and Barolo Riservas by blending Monprivato fruit with grapes from other sites.

Monprivato's Gifts. The great multi-vineyard Mascarello Barolos of the 1950s and 1960s were among the giants of their era. Yet, as remarkable as they were—and remain today when well-cellared—Mauro recognized that Monprivato on its own could produce an even more compelling wine, prodigious in its perfume and abundant in its richness.

Since its first vintage in 1970, Mauro's Barolo Monprivato has been one of the Langhe's most consistently magical wines. The secret to its greatness can be found not only in Mauro's wine- making but in a very special terroir. Approximately 15 acres in size on a soutwest-facing slope in Castiglione Falletto, Monprivato's white and gray marl soils offer textbook conditions for Nebbiolo.

Monprivato has been known as a special vineyard since at least the 1600s, and a quarter century ago Renato Ratti's epic classification of Barolo vineyards ranked Monprivato among Barolo's ten greatest vineyards—analagous to a Burgundy grand cru. In the 1980s, Mauro brought the complete site under his family's ownership, making it one of the few great Barolo vineyards to be entirely owned by a single domaine.

Henry Davar, Wine & Spirits 12/2011
"As I taste the Barolo Monprivato 2006 and '07 I'm stricken with a combined sense of horror (that the thesis I have been investigating is potentially irrelevant) and exhilaration (that the reason I had originally fallen in love with Barolo and Barbaresco is staring me in the face). All talk of winemaking is suddenly irrelevant. I know that Mauro Mascarello is (and I will borrow the words of their US agent) 'the last of his generation of great classically inspired winemakers in Barolo,' but I had learned that they were farming to extremely low yields. I know that they favor long fermentation but are performing remontage in favor of cappello sommerso. They are carrying out malolactic fermentation in a combination of steel and cement tanks. They are aging their wines in large Slavonian oak botti. All of this fades away as I taste Monprivato and realize that I have not tasted a Barolo like it during my stay in Piedmont-for how could I have? Monprivato is an expression of this particular place-a vineyard that dominates one of a series of ridges on the western slope of Castiglione Falletto, surrounded by Bricco Boschi, Bricco Fiasco and Villero. And the mascarellos have captured its soul completely."

Media Links
Wine Advocate: A survey of Michet - Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo 1967-2001

Video Links
Guildsomm: The Wines of Barolo and Barbaresco (features Mauro Mascarello)
Items
Giuseppe Mascarello 2008 'Scudetto' Barbera d'Alba DOC Net Price — —
Giuseppe Mascarello 1997 Barolo, Monprivato, DOCG Net Price — — New!
Giuseppe Mascarello 2009 Barolo, Monprivato, DOCG Net Price Reviews —
Reviews
Giuseppe Mascarello 2009 Barolo, Monprivato, DOCG
Rating: 92

Floral, strawberry, currant, bouillon, soy and tobacco aromas and flavors highlight this savory red. Elegant, yet tensile and firm, with a lingering aftertaste of dried berry and mineral. Best from 2016 through 2029. 600 cases imported. - B.S.

- The Wine Spectator (3/31/2014)

Giuseppe Mascarello 2009 Barolo, Monprivato, DOCG
Rating: 92(+?)

Moderately saturated medium red. Compelling early perfume of strawberry, black cherry, licorice and brown spices. Silky and seamless on entry, then perfumed and light on its feet in the middle, with captivating complexity to the flavors of sweet red berries, earth and minerals. Harmonious acidity gives shape to the middle palate and extends the flavors through the long, subtle, vibrant finish. This very young wine is evolving slowly and probably needs seven or eight years to shine, and yet the tannins are quite suave today.

- International Wine Cellar (12/1/2013)

Giuseppe Mascarello 2009 Barolo, Monprivato, DOCG
Rating: (93-95)

The 2009 Barolo 'Monprivato' impresses for its sheer balance. Nothing really stands out, instead it is the wine's overall harmony that speaks most clearly. This is going to be a fascinating vintage of Monprivato to follow. What will emerge over time? Will it be the personality of the year, or the pedigree of these poor, white soils? Time will tell.

- Vinous by Antonio Galloni (5/1/2013)