Bartolo Mascarello, Barolo 2021

A super-complex wine that’s elegant and sleek. The nose shows dried flowers and potpourri, with touches of old-fashioned tar, licorice root and strawberry fruit. Candied orange peel enhances the aromas. Dusty on the palate, with typical nebbiolo tannins, yet it’s ripe, velvety, broad, full-bodied, refreshing and exquisitely balanced. Slightly chocolaty finish with a savory licorice aftertaste. Stunning finesse. Almost drinkable; try from 2026.

The 2021 Barolo, which was bottled in July of 2024 and will be released in the fall of 2025, was tasted at the estate in early March of 2025. In the glass, it takes on a medium red hue and is initially a bit shy before revealing its compelling complexity through a layered bouquet of red cherries, anise, Asian spices, fresh roses, and crushed stones. The palate delivers electric intensity, with a noble feel. Compared to the 2020 Barolo, which boasts a more pliant and approachable feel upfront, this vintage is more vertical, displaying more tension with a chiseled structure. It has fantastic length on the palate, with lasting mineral persistence and mouthwatering darker fruits coming through on the finish. It’s a stunning wine that will benefit from some cellar time and can be laid down to drink from 2028 to 2058 and beyond, if stored appropriately.

This wine was bottled in the fall of 2024 and will hit the market in September 2025. The Bartolo Mascarello 2021 Barolo sees the same blend of five vineyards as the 2020 vintage, but this edition shines with brighter clarity and focus thanks to the excellent growing conditions of the growing season. The 2021 is beautifully lifted and vertical; however, it reveals growing complexity even at this nascent stage. Winemaking counted a long and careful 48 days of submerged cap, marking a traditional fermentation. The summer season was not too hot, but September saw above average temperatures for easy ripening. There was adequate water and the grapes showed no signs of stress or suffering, Maria Teresa Mascarello tells me. The wine is classic, crisp and linear with present tannins and a very long mouthfeel that continues with freshness and energy. It is terrific now, and we can expect more to come from this epic bottle.

While Bartolo Mascarello’s Barolo is never overtly muscular, the latest release exhibits more density than the last few vintages. Yet it is still built around class, poise and intricacies. A demure nose opens with top notes of violet and lilac before progressing to mint and cinnamon, with brushwood and red berries eventually emerging. The fruit is toned yet supple, giving just enough flesh to the decisive suede textured tannins. Classic seamlessness and elegance. The estate estimates a 10% overall loss in 2021 as frost hit prime spots in Cannubi and Rocche dell'Annunziata. Harvested between 6-10 October, healthy grapes allowed for a long maceration of 48 days, 35 of which were with submerged cap.

The 2021 Barolo shows the dimension and class of a top-tier vintage. The aromatics are especially open today. However, on the palate, the wine is much more reticent. Sweet dried cherry, sweet pipe tobacco, chalk, white pepper, mint and dried herbs are all beautifully lifted in the glass. Deceptive in its mid-weight build, the 2021 is super impressive. Beams of firm, youthful tannins shape the sustained, sculpted finish. What a delight.