Barolo, Bartolo Mascarello 2006

Bartolo Mascarello Retrospective: 1958-2010. While the 2004 is a finessed wine, the 2006 Barolo is all brute power and intensity. Raw and explosive, with tons of underlying structure, the 2006 simply dazzles from the very first taste. With time in the glass, a host of dark, balsamic-inflected notes start to blossom. Even so, the 2006 is a wine to bury in the deepest corner of the cellar and forget about for at least another 5-10 years, as it is very much still on the ascent. What a wine. 2021-2046

Mascarello's 2006 Barolo boasts great purity and density in a round, harmonious expression of fruit that emerges from a mid-weight frame. Silky tannins frame the intensely fragrant, dark red fruit as this exceptionally elegant, refined Barolo shows off its pedigree. The finish is long, clean and refreshing, suggesting the wine has many years of very fine drinking in store for readers who are lucky enough to own this bottle. Proprietor Maria-Theresa Mascarello describes 2006 as a hot year. The Nebbiolo harvest here began earlier than normal, on the 23rd of September, the same as 2005. That said, the 2006 Barolo has retained the classic, mid-weight style that readers have come to expect from Bartolo Mascarello.