Barolo 2015 Magnum

Maria Teresa Mascarello remembers the 2015 summer as being very hot, so hot it was hard to get restful sleep at night without air conditioning, especially from the end of June to the first week of August. Temperatures dropped at the end of the season in time to maintain lively freshness and acidity. That interchange between hot and cool contributed to a very successful vintage and steady fruit ripening. Her 2015 Barolo is a tad more accessible overall, with dark and luscious fruit that emerges beautifully from the bouquet. Only the Rue vineyard, one of the blending components for this wine, saw a decrease in yields because of powdery mildew, which can be a problem at that site instead of downy mildew (which is avoided because this vineyard benefits from more winds and breezes). This is also the first vintage in which the San Lorenzo vineyard is not included in the blend. That site went offline in 2015 because the old vines were removed, the earth was left to rest for two years and the site was replanted in 2017. These young Nebbiolo vines may go to a Langhe Nebbiolo wine in the near term, although a final decision has not been made yet. So, to recap, the vineyards used to make this edition are Canubbi (this estate prefers this traditional spelling rather than "Cannubi"), Rue, Rocche dell'Annunziata and Bussia (Monrobiolo). A tiny part of fruit from a site in the Barolo township called Nelso is also added (otherwise planted to Dolcetto and Freisa). The wine is put together with amazing precision to offer beautiful fullness, freshness and balance from this textbook growing season.

Clear, brightening ruby core. Aroma opens with notes of leather, ample ripe raspberry notes and some ginger hints. Juicy on the palate with grippy, fine-meshed tannin, vivid bright fruit with a long finish.

A positively stunning wine, Maria Teresa Mascarello's 2015 Barolo is very clearly one of the wines of the year. This is the first vintage to incorporate fruit from a parcel in Bussia next to Mascarello's Dolcetto and Freisa that takes the place of San Lorenzo, which was recently replanted. Rich and soaring in the glass, with stunning textural intensity, the 2015 dazzles from the very first taste. Silky tannins give the wine tremendous near term appeal, but the 2015 also has the depth and pedigree to drink well for many years and decades to come. Orange peel, mint, crushed rose petal and anise add classic shades of Nebbiolo nuance to this striking, deeply expressive Barolo.