The 2020 Barolo is classy, elegant and polished, just as it was last year. Crushed flowers, sage, citrus mint, spice, cedar and pipe tobacco give this ethereal, nuanced Barolo notable aromatic presence. All the elements are very nicely balanced. This is an especially ethereal Barolo from Maria Teresa Mascarello. Nervy tannins lend verve throughout. It will be interesting to see how this ages.

In the blend of Maria Teresa Mascarello's Barolo 2020, the replanted San Lorenzo vineyard makes a comeback, with a small portion of young-vine fruit. It was harvested on 2 October, while the rest (from Rocche dell'Annunziata and Cannubi) was picked from 4-8 October, after the rain. The result is a wine with a backdrop of very fresh redcurranty fruits, violets, deep spices including liquorice root, as well as hints of linden, almost camphor, and wild strawberry. A defined expression demonstrating a lot of maturity and savouriness.

This wine is on the market now. The Bartolo Mascarello 2020 Barolo represents a blend of fruit from five sites for the first time, Maria Teresa Mascarello tells me excitedly. The classic blend of the recent past saw fruit from Rue and Cannubi in Barolo and Rocche dell’Annunziata in La Morra. San Lorenzo, if only with fruit from a mere 3,000 square meters of seven-year-old vines, returns to the blend with this vintage. The wine also has fruit from Monrobio di Bussia from 4,000 square meters of leased vineyards. (Monrobio di Bussia took the place of San Lorenzo from the 2015 to the 2019 vintages). The Rue vineyard measures 4,000 square meters and has 35-year-old plants. Rocche dell’Annunziata measures 1.3 hectares, and its vines range from 35 to 40 years old. The oldest vines in Cannubi reach 70 years in age, but replanting over the years has introduced 15-, 20- and 25-year-old plants. The site measures one hectare and makes up about one-third of this wine (with fruit sourced from across a total of 3.3 hectares). Rocche dell’Annunziata also makes up one-third of the blend. Fermentation times were long in 2020, lasting 55 days, with 42 days of submerged cap. This process allows the aromas and flavors to develop slowly and with added nuance. The vintage is considered hot; however, 2020 saw a "different kind of heat," Maria Teresa Mascarello tells me. Much-needed water reserves remained intact from winter and spring that saw snow and rain. "There was more disease pressure in 2020, but it wasn't too bad; and the wines show full-bodied ripeness," she says. This vintage was bottled in summer 2024. The wine reveals a soft side, with supple tannins, dark cherry fruit, dried herb, tea leaf and a hint of wild mint. The bouquet is open and does not hold back, especially in terms of its fruit-forward appeal. It feels linear and sharp on the palate, with balanced acidity that keeps it bright.

The 2020 Barolo is a transparent red hue and offers an approachable Grenache-like ease on the nose that is quite pretty and fruity with aromas of candied strawberries, hints of purple flowers, herbes de Provence, and sweet earth. The palate is savory and more classic in its structure, with refined yet well-defined tannins, refreshing, bright acidity, and driving notes of orange peel, apricot pit, and salty earth through an elegant and long finish. As is always the case, it is sourced from the four crus of Cannubi, Rocche dell’Annunziata, San Lorenzo, and Rue. While it feels approachable now, with a charming, juicy feel upfront, it should have a wide window for enjoyment and solid longevity over the coming two decades. The following wines were tasted at the estate, in the town of Barolo. With this release of the Barbera, they included a small portion of purchased fruit, which was necessary while their vineyard was being replanted between 2020 and 2022 due to Flavescence dorée. A phytoplasma disease, it has become a more widespread issue across regions in Italy and France, likely exacerbated by warmer spring and fall temperatures, and there’s no known cure at this time. The 2024 vintage was the first harvest from the new vines and will mark the return to producing Barbera solely from estate-grown fruit.

Pale lustrous ruby. Deep, spice and dried cherry with minerally liquorice. Gorgeous lightness of touch with fine, long tannins. Super-elegant, long and captivating. (WS)