Part 2:
The next day started with a slow stroll to the other side of Barolo to the Cantina of Bartolo Mascarello for a 10am appointment. Keen as mustard would be an understatement; I’d been planning this trip for so long with Cos and we were finally at the “pointy end” of the process. Strolling up to the front door of Bartolo was quite interesting, if you didn’t know it was there you could easily walk by without even knowing you had passed it! Here’s the incredibly unassuming front door.
I wouldn’t describe their premises as spacious; that said they make very efficient use of the space they have available. Once we entered we were welcomed by Alan Manley who gave us an introduction to the Cantina after seating us at the tasting table. Straight away I had a good feeling about Alan. There’s something reassuring about meeting a fellow American expat and not immediately launching into an Amerocentric conversation. He knew I was American, I knew he was American, and yet we spoke nothing of it. Our focus was elsewhere this morning.
Around the room were a good amount of old Bartolo bottles. Here’s a couple shots.
After the introduction Alan led us on a tour of the premises. We started in the fermentation room. I was immediately struck by how small the room is. One concrete tank (pictured below) still had the 2015 Barolo in it. There were 5 tanks in total. Alan informed us of the maceration process which I found quite unique. Post fermentation the Nebbiolo destined for the Barolo is left in the concrete tanks. The cap isn’t submerged or manually punched down in any way, instead the tank is completely filled to the top before being sealed. So while the cap isn’t manually submerged it is under juice since the tank is completely filled. A small sample is taken daily from the tank. On the day the sample has lost most of its color the maceration process is complete. So obviously there’s no “set formula” for maceration length, instead the wine “chooses” when it’s ready. This is the reason why the 2010 Barolo had a 56 day maceration whereas on average it might spend 30 days on skins. There’s something pretty magical about letting the wine choose when it’s ready instead of a person making the call.
After the fermentation room we proceeded into the barrel room where there was a smattering of large and smaller botti. Obviously there are no barriques in use at Bartolo!
Here’s Alan striking a pose with some of the smaller botti. All the wood is Slavonian oak to my knowledge.
After a quick stroll through the family cellar we proceeded back to the tasting room/offices to get down to the business of tasting some of the wines. Here’s my notes in order of the tasting.
2013 Bartolo Mascarello Barbera d’Alba - The Barbara had a very clean fruit driven nose. On the palate there was beautiful acidity and fine tannin. Somewhat linear but lovely none the less. Jodi loved it.
2013 Bartolo Mascarello Langhe Freisa - The nose in my mind is comparable to Nebbiolo. The palate has a slight spritz, excellent acidity and red fruits with a lovely drying finish. I really enjoyed this wine and will be seeking out more Fresia in general. Superb quaffability.
2011 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo - The bottle on the tasting bench was a bit tired so Alan grabbed a fresh one and popped and poured. The nose had excellent red fruit aromatics including red cherry and a hint of aniseed. With time hints of tea leaves became apparent. The palate was high in both acid and tannin but had great balance and length. Definitely an early drinker when compared to the 2010.
Apparently most 2011 Barolo are like this and while they won’t be incredibly long lived or a classic vintage they should offer immediate gratification given the ripe fruit driven nature of the vintage. After the tasting Alan was kind enough to offer Cos and I a bottle each of the 2011 Barolo with the limited edition art label. Alan’s given 500 bottles of the Barolo annually by Maria Teresa to sell at the cantina to visiting clients. The price per bottle was ridiculously cheap. If given the option I suspect we would have backed up the rental cars and filled them up.
After Bartolo Cos and I drove up the hill to Guiseppe Rinaldi’s home for our second appointment. Unfortunately we were running substantially late and by the time we arrived we couldn’t be accommodated. Spewin!
After the morning at Bartolo we departed for La Morra for lunch at Bovio Ristorante. We had a reservation that had been organised by Cos a couple months in advance. Furthermore he had already organised the wine as well. Cos is a keen collector of Barolo, so much so that the Enoteca we buy from in Alba has what they refer to as “Mount Cosimo” out back. I shudder to think how much he’ll have to pay in tax alone when he finally ships those wines to Australia. Anyway, I’m mentioning this now as he bought heavy with the 2010 vintage immediately upon release; so much so that he was able to secure case quantities of things like Bartolo’s Barolo as well as Guiseppe Rinaldi’s Brunate at exceptional prices before the hype train reached full speed. That said there was one bottle that he wasn’t able to source no matter how hard he tried; the 2010 Cappellano Barolo Piè Franco Otin Fiorin. 2010 Piè Rupestris, no problem. But the Piè Franco had proven to be most elusive. Bovio had it on the wine list at a very good price when Cos made the reservation, iirc it was 120 euro. So he organised a bottle for us when he made the booking. I’m pleased he did, when we arrived on the day the Piè Franco was still listed but priced at 200 euro. I just had a quick look now, it’s no longer on the wine list at Bovio.
The restaurant (and all of the area) was blanketed with fog when we were there, so much so that the view from our corner table at the restaurant was completely fogged out. No worries, we asked for the Piè Franco to be brought out as soon as we were seated. Unfortunately Cos had been quite sick the night before so I was left with the arduous task of drinking most of the bottle. Here’s my notes from the day.
2010 Cappellano Barolo Piè Franco Otin Fiorin - Very big nose, richness almost oozes out of the glass. Tar and dark fruits dominate. The palate whilst rich was quite tight. Exceptionally tannic with great acid and length. Tar and aniseed stand out on the palate, iron in the background. With more air it developed a high toned lift. The nose completely shut down after ~2 hours.
Of all the wines we tried on this trip the 2010 Piè Franco was easily the most closed and unforgiving. I felt a bit bad about the infanticide but I’d rather try one too young when faced with the alternative of not tasting it at all. After perusing the menu for entirely too long I decided to take the easy route and just opt for the degustation menu. We started with the veal tonnato with old style tuna sauce and veal tartare with black truffles and parmigiano cheese. Both were excellent.
Next up was a tart of cardoons and cheese fondue. Jodi didn’t enjoy it at all but I’m a huge fan of tarts and found it delicate and sublime.
By this point in time the restaurant was absolutely filled with the aroma of tartufo bianco. I couldn’t resist the urge and requested to have at least one of my dishes be served with white truffle. No use f’n around, when in Rome, etc. etc. My next plate was meant to be handmade ravioli filled with meat, vegetables, and beef sauce. Come to find out that dish didn’t match with white truffle appropriately so instead I was served handmade ravioli with egg, ricotta, and spinach. At the table it was covered with white truffle. I actually preferred the meat ravioli over the cheese ravioli when compared stand alone but the addition of white truffle caused the cheese ravioli win out. The truffle was more aromatic and flavorful than the ones from Barolo Friends the night before and I was immediately pleased with my decision to deviate from the set menu.
Next course was described on the menu as typical braised beef in Barolo wine sauce. The beef must have been slow cooked for quite some time as it just fell apart under fork. It paired with the Barolo magnificently. I also enjoyed the polenta on the plate as it allowed me to state unequivocally to the table that grits were alive and well in Italy. Jodi just shook her head.
For our last dish we had three desserts. By this time I was well and truly stuffed plus I’m not a dessert man at the best of times. Still, I tried all three and they were all very good.
After all the food an espresso was required. Of course you can’t have coffee without more dessert.
After lunch we drove up to the top of La Morra to get a better view of the fog. We weren’t disappointed…
Coming up next: aged Barbaresco and Barolo in Pommard.
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