Community Tasting Note
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Robmcl920 Likes this wine: 94 points
September 20, 2020 - The '07 Bartolo comes across as a dark, exotic, hedonistic wine from the first whiff. On the nose, I found black cherry and plum fruit, licorice, sweet baking spices, a hint of dark chocolate, balsamic, and earth. The palate remains largely primary, with dark cherry and plum fruit and sweet spices, but stands out primarily for the lush texture and richness. The fruit is dense and glides across the palate like velvet. There is minimal tannin, with a small amount of slightly grainy tannin appearing on the finish, which is long with plenty of spicy, dark fruit. I didn't find the '07 Bartolo to be in any way actually sweet on the palate, as some reviews indicated, but it does show a dark, rich, hedonistic expression of Nebbiolo, certainly very different than most vintages of Bartolo Mascarello. It's enjoyable today, but should improve a bit as the final bit of tannin fully integrates and some more tertiary complexity opens up. It is a very good vintage of Bartolo, standing out for its richness, even if it lacks the complexity of the surrounding '06 and '08 vintages.
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3 Comments
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Fractalage commented:
11/24/20, 10:13 PM - Curious, because I've got a case of the '07 and need to decide when to open the first bottle.
Did you decant? What type of decanter?
How long did it breathe?
How was it stored?
Were you the only owner of the bottle?
How much sediment if any? -
Robmcl920 commented:
11/25/20, 7:25 PM - Hey - yes I did decant for a few hours. Just a standard Riedel decanter, I think the Merlot one - works for my needs. Not sure how much sediment, I don't think anything crazy. I bought two of these at a retailer a few years ago, so I assume 1 other owner. Both bottles seemed in great condition and showed similarly.
There's some controversy about the '07 Mascarello - some discussion recently on the Vinous forum. I think I like the wine a bit more than some others. It depends on your tolerance for this very rich, hedonistic style of Nebbiolo, which is quite different than the average Bartolo.
I would definitely try a bottle if you have a case. I think the wine will hang on and improve for a while, but it's probably not as long of an ager as the cooler vintages. -
Fractalage commented:
11/25/20, 9:45 PM - Thanks for the info!
Just opened my first of the case. More notes to follow on my post, but I would say, so far, way over priced for the taste, as I would not put at that price range yet, I've still a few more hours air to go. So far only one hour. We'll see how it goes.
It stood upright for a full year. Thick sediment on the bottom of the bottle.
I will note its evolution over the next 1-2 days.
Thanks for the info!