March 25, 2024 - Robe à couper au couteau:on ne voit pas à travers on dirait un jeune teinturier français !!!!! Nez sublime dominé par deux arômes que sont le goudron et les notes torréfiées.Cette association plutôt rare m'a réellement fait forte impression mais je dois avouer que cela ne plaira pas à tous....Néanmoins,l'adage affirme que c'est au dégustateur d'aller à la rencontre du vin et pas le contraire à tous bon entendeur,salut.La bouche est du même acabit:c'est sensuel,hédoniste,les tanins sont fondus.Mêmes arômes qu'au bouquet mais le café me semble plus prégnant.Longueur de bon aloi.Un grand vin qui peut tenir encore fazcilement 10/15 ans !!!!
July 27, 2023 - This wine has reports of significant variability. This bottle showed well, but still not living up to the praise gotten on release. Lovely cherry fruit, roses, tar, and still some tannin. Translucent. While the fruit that's there is pure and pretty, I question whether there's enough stuffing to improve much from here.
May 15, 2023 - I approached this bottle with apprehension given the notable variability others have observed, particularly in the US. Not flawed, not exactly correct though wither. Some muted VA was evident on the nose, and never blew off. While the VA disappeared on the palate, the wine was a bit monolithic, and lacked energy to me. Dried red cherries, lavender and some muted mint. Others, interestingly, found it the best of the flight.
February 2, 2023 - La Festa del Barolo: Rare Wine Dinner - Bartolo Mascarello (Legacy Records): From a magnum. Very interesting to compare the last wine that was a collaboration between father and daughter with the first wine that was the daughter only (this was the collaboration). It doesn’t quite have the liveliness that you see in the others in the flight. There’s a weightless elegance that she captures or a lift that isn’t quite in this wine. Not clear how the longevity will go on this one although there is some evolution in the glass and it starts to open up with some time.
January 15, 2023 - Silky smooth. Great depth. last bottle of 04, onto to the 06s.
Served with Gnocchi in a beefy ragu.
December 27, 2022 - 01/04 pairing. One of the better 04s tonight, but still not at the level of its 01 counterpart as the wine is still somewhat brooding and the fruit more black/dark vs. the 01 red fruited florality. Excellent wine, that should still improve with 5+ years of cellaring.
December 27, 2022 - "The stench is dissipating" (Chicago, IL): I don't think this wine is living up to my expectations. Or maybe it's just the typical Bartolo bottle variation. The fruit was nowhere as clean and precise as the 2001, and there's a slight muddiness to the nose. Mostly structural, this doesn't have the fresh red fruit of the 2001 either -- it's a bit more black stone fruit here. Not sure when those tannins are going to fully resolve either. All that said, this is still a pretty impressive wine, and I think this may well be much more interesting with more time, as I did feel as if this wine had plenty to say, but just not today.
December 19, 2022 - sadly my last bottle, this was super elegant and lifted with high acidity and red fruit but also some significant energy, didn't get the funky nose the prior reviewer mentioned... in fact the nose was somewhat muted... red fruit was delightful, acidity made it sing (one guest said too much acidity), and minerality was palpable... not at all heavy -- as some 2004 Barolo's have been for me... LOVELY
December 7, 2022 - Funky animal nose, burnt rubber! A bit wild but very much alive, keeps evolving in the glass.
Elegant red fruit on the palate with coffee and chocolate notes.
Dry finish.
Slightly odd wine and very different to the last bottle I had which I remember as being much more staid and integrated, less expressive on the nose. That was a magnum which probably accounts for some of the difference.
January 22, 2022 - sound cork and bottle. dense ruby with a bit of bricking. cherries and pine tar on the nose. medium plus bodied, ripe acidity, smooth and lithe. loads of cherry plus tar, mint, and dark stewed fruit on the palate. grainy tannins. delicious but still young.