Professional Reviews
Antonio Galloni
Robert Parker
Wine Enthusiast
Details
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Vintage
2009
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Size
750ml
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Farming Practice
Sustainable
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Style
Elegant
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Body
Full Bodied
Flatiron Wines & Spirits NY
Bartolo made a name for himself resisting the modernizing trends in the region, encapsulated by a message he put on a hand-drawn bottle label: “No Barriques, No Berlusconi”. He died a few years ago but the domain is now in the gifted hands of his daughter Maria Theresa, who has raised the profile even further with a series of fabulous vintages. Still hewing rigorously to tradition (long macerations, and no barriques!), they are one of the very few domains to still release just one Barolo made from a blend of all their parcels (as was generally the case before single vineyard cuvees started to appear in the 1960s). 30% of the Barolo comes from Rocche di Annunziata in La Morra; the rest from three different vineyards in the commune of Barolo: Rue, San Lorenzo and Cannubi.
AG
94
"Bartolo Mascarello fans will want to stock up on the 2009 Barolo, a great choice for indulging in pure pleasure while vintages like 2006, 2008 and 2010 take their time to develop in bottle. Dried rose petals, fennel, anise, sweet tobacco and mint are all very much alive in the glass. The 2009 is ethereal, graceful and utterly beguiling from the very first taste. I expect the 2009 will mature relatively quickly by the estate's standards, but there is more positive to that than negative." -Vinous
RP
94
"The 2009 Barolo (aged three years in botte grande and one year in bottle) opens with a crystalline, ruby color and shows extreme focus and precision. Rosehip, forest berry, wild mint, lightly toasted pine nut, dried ginger and underbrush all appear on the ever-changing bouquet. The wine is extremely finessed and silky on the close with beautiful menthol freshness at the end. In Barolo tradition, fruit was normally sourced from many vineyards. The concept of single vineyards is relatively new. In keeping with tradition, this Barolo sees fruit from the Canubbi, San Lorenzo, Rue, and Rocche di La Morra vineyards."
WE
95
"This producer has made an outstanding Barolo 2009—no easy feat in this vintage. This bottling is made from top vineyards in Barolo and La Morra. It has a gorgeous bouquet of rose, leather and a whiff of tar. The palate delivers a hint of carob, spice and succulent black cherry notes. Impeccably balanced, this is elegant and complex. A textbook Barolo."