2021 Barolo

Lustrous and just mid ruby. Savoury-sweet spice notes mingling with cherry and raspberry and with a hint of liquorice. Fluid and succulent at the same time with tactile and gravelly ripe tannins. Fantastic balance but much too young. (WS)

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. 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.

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.