2018 Bartolo Mascarello, Barolo

This is a superbly delicate and carefully finessed wine that interprets the growing season with its alternating cold and hot intervals in an impeccable manner. The Bartolo Mascarello 2018 Barolo puts Nebbiolo and the vintage seamlessly together like lock and key. It opens to a beautiful drinking experience. The bouquet shows detail and finely tuned aromas of redcurrant, violet, rusty nail and blood orange. On the palate, this Barolo is so shiny and polished that it feels like silk. Without a doubt, this is one of the top wines of 2018.

Lush and pure, the 2018 Barolo is a medium and transparent ruby hue, with aromas of fresh roses, wet stone, and ripe raspberry. This medium-bodied red is luxurious. with a silky and viscous texture and generous notes of ripe red cherry, warming cardamom spice, and soft earth. Elegant and long through the palate, with no harshness, it is drinking beautifully now or will continue to drink well over the next 15 years. Fermentation saw 45 days on the skins with a submerged cap.

The 2018 Barolo from Bartolo Mascarello is attractive, but also two-dimensional relative to the very best years. Dark cherry, plum, tobacco, cedar, incense and licorice all open in the glass. The 2018 is a bit strict in its tannins, but is developing well. Give it at least a few more years in bottle. This is the first year the Mascarello Barolo reached 15% in alcohol. As such, it is an outlier.

Just mid ruby with orange tinges. An enticing, savoury minerally nose. Succulent and youthful palate with satin-like yet persistent tannins. Very long and elegant but with plenty of concentration. A fine balancing act. Such a long, juicy finish! (WS)

Just mid ruby with orange tinges. Distinctive, minerally nose loaded with spice and still subdued with finely perfumed cherry fruit. Elegant palate with succulent raspberry and cherry fruit. There is a fullness on the palate but without being heavy. Great balance and length and with crunchy tannic bite on the finish. (WS)