Tasting today free of charge at our Bishopsgate shop with Giuseppe Mascarello
2008 Barolo benefitted from a long, cool growing season brilliantly topped off by an absolutely splendid and sunny autumn. Just what Nebbiolo was born for, in fact. The best growers and the best sites have therefore made superb reflections of terroir with cores of ripe fruit and superb minerality on top of woven silk tannins. The combination of Mascarello and Monprivato in this sort of vintage has produced startlingly transparent wines that exude complex perfumes of fruit and cru.
Giuseppe's here today - he's aiming to arrive about 1pm, so if you set the alternative time on your Rolex GMT 11 to 'Italian', you should be about right. He'll go away for a late afternoon lunch and then be back from 5pm until 6:30pm. We are tasting through pretty much their entire range (listed below) so if you want to see how the top traditionalists do it, this is your opportunity to taste beautiful Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto with the proprietor. /CW
'The 2008 Barolo Monprivato is understated, classy and very pretty. It comes across as seamless and pure, although it will be quite a few years before the wine is ready. The 2008 is mostly remarkable for its textural finesse and sheer delicateness. Crushed flowers, spices and licorice wrap around the eternal finish. I expect the 2008 will firm up once it is in bottle, but if this sneak preview is any indication, the wine is shaping up beautifully. Drink 2018-2038. 93-95 points+.' - Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate, April 2012
