Our Wines & Spirits

Monica Larner: This is the stuff of dreams. Tasted so young, I dida lot of coaxing to nudge the wine along, thanks to a double decantand a few extra hours in an open bottle. I tasted both samples Ihad over the course of a few weeks. Those efforts served well, butthe wine remains packed tight and full of nervous energyregardless, indicating that its true potential won't be seen foranother 10 or 20 years, or likely more. The Bartolo Mascarello 2016Barolo is a true icon of the vintage. The approach is elongated andsilky, like lifting honey from a jar. The aromas are chiseled andfocused with wild berry, licorice, candied orange peel, campfireash, rusted iron, crushed graphite and pencil shaving. The wine'spersonality is downplayed, elegant and demure in one tasting butexuberant and expressive in the next. The tannins show snap andcrunch, indicating they will drive the wine forward over many yearsof cellar age. This is one of those rare wines that is poised toimprove with each increment of time. Structurally, it is perfect.If we were to create a template for an aspirational Barolo, thiswould be it.