Anybody try this? What are your thoughts?
Thanks!
Thin and watery the first day, killer the next. One for the ages.
Check your credit balance first?
Hi Jonathon,
Howard Davis has just written this up on his Piemonte travel thread:
2013 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Popped and poured. Cherry red colour with amber highlights. A beautiful bouquet of bright red cherries, raspberries and red plums, a compote of red berries. Also, a touch dried herbs and nascent rose florals. On palate, slowing opening in the glass. Ripe and rich but elegant and very well balanced. Morello cherries and other red fruit with some herbs and some austere minerality. It paired beautifully with my goat dish. Sweet seeming tannins. Racy acidity and great precision. Mid weight at most and still tightly coiled. Very long. A brilliant wine. Delicious now but it’ll need 5-10+ more years before it’s at anything like its best, I would think.
Cheers…Mark
Any rough drinking window guidelines? I bought a 1997 of the same on a lark and have no idea if opening now would be too soon
Give them 20 years if you can. That seems to be general consensus for G. Mascarello Monprivato from people more experienced than I am.
All that said I opened the 2011 on Saturday and finished it last night. It’s the second '11 I’ve looked at over the past year. Both have been stunning and despite the warmth of the vintage displayed quite elegant and tight. Granted the glass last night did show some riper fruit which is typical of the vintage but I’d definitely not describe it as overr-ripe.
I find G. Mascarello Monprivato often displays the same “transparent shell” on the palate that Giacosa does. I’m not quite sure how else to describe it, but there’s a lift and signature to these wines that I find positively fascinating.
I had the '97 1-2 years ago and thought it was in the early stages of a long peak. I would open it. Our bottle was very nice.
As for the '13, it’s a truly great young Barolo that will need a LOT of time to show its potential. As earlier drinking vintages like '97 and 2000 of this wine still seem to need 15-20 years, I suspect vintages like 2010 and 2013 will be almost immortal and need an absolute minimum of 20 years, but likely more like 25-30 to get to where I want them to be.
Thank you Andrew and Doug 
depends on how you like your wines I’d say. its gotta be great now, but probably still in that bright fruit stage more than tertiary.