TN: 2007 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato

WINE TALK
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  • 2007 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (9/9/2016)
    No. 12239. The nose on this shows real ripeness – the red fruits, while pretty, smell very, very sweet (alongside a dash of rosewater), but the kicker is a heady, almost spirit-like component rising out of the glass. Not very encouraging, to be honest. The palate, doesn’t show as scarily ripe, but this is still a large-scaled, blowsy example of a traditionalist Barolo. Lots of sweet red fruit here, there’s quite a bit of detectable alcohol as well. The tannins seem soft for a Barolo of this age. Perhaps with time, this wine will shed more of this fat. A serviceable drink, though disappointing given the pedigree and price. (88 pts.)
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A. So

1996 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
The nose on this: wow. You can’t get much more classic than that. All that red fruit, floral, and tar just comes rushing out of the glass. But alas, this bottle was a good example of the nose showing much better than the palate. I thought this was closed and the palate, while you could clearly tell had ample material, showed mostly its acid and tannin. There was a hint of dirt as well, but mostly this felt like a shutdown, rustic Barolo (maybe that’s what this is). But on the nose alone, this wine is a real stunner. I’d strongly suggest holding this bottle for longer (but that should have been obvious anyway). (93 pts.)
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Interesting that you gave this wine 93 points. It gives a pretty clear insight as to what your preferences are with Barolo.

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In my modest to moderate experience, too-young Monprivato is quite different from typical too-young Barolo. It seems kind of sweet, simple, strawberry/cherry, rather than super tannic and taut. My experience sounds similar to yours. I think it just needs proper age to become the great wine you expect, even though it doesn’t give the conventional indicators of “great wine that is too young.”

Having said that, I haven’t opened a 2007, so I’m just speculating from general Monprivato experience.

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[Deleted duplicate post]

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Both wines sound very representative of their vintages – open, diffuse and hot in 07 and backward and very tannic for 96. I’d put my bet on the 96 to improve.

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Had a similar, underwhelming experience with the '07. It came across as nearly flat, and overall pretty lifeless. By contrast, a couple years later I opened the '09 and found a super intense, incredibly complex wine, really showing its potential, though clearly in need of a decade+ of cellaring. If I had to guess, I’d think the '09 was the more normal experience, but would be interested to try the '07 at age 20 or so.

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My three came from Premier Cru. Guess its better to have three with a “warm” review then none. rolleyes

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Those are my thoughts exactly. I wouldn’t even think of opening a 2007 Monprivato right now.

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Klapp on 2007:


Barolo buying strategy re 2011.
Post #58 by Bill Klapp

2007-I probably said enough about this vintage on the first page. The bottom line for me is that I gotta believe. Gaja and Giacosa killed it in Barbaresco, and others, like Castello di Neive and Produttori, made some beautiful wines, with consistently good notices across the board. On the Barolo side, the Cascina Francia was among the best (and no, I do not buy the Monfortino juice hooey), as good as 2006 and to me, better than 2008. Giacosa made two terrific Baroli, one red label. The median quality is probably higher than 2006, and more akin to 2004, but with the initial presumption out there that the 2007s were big fruit, not much structure. I, for one, have watched the best wines shutting down tight, and simply do not buy the structure concern at this point. One could drink a fair number of the 1996s immediately after release, notably the Giacosa Falletto Riserva, whose huge, sweet, ripe fruit completely hid its tannins and structure. While the vintages are not directly analogous, I have seen a lot of the same thing in the 2007s.

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[highfive.gif]

Good one.

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I’ve heard all of this before, but never having experienced it myself, I still found this a worthy exercise. #noregrets

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Maybe they did not hear about the new Paradigm at Mascarello yet. Monprivato usually requires many decades

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I had the 2007 Bartolo Mascarello not too long ago and found it to be delicious. If someone were to describe it as having a “candied” quality, I would not disagree. If everything has to fall into the classical category for one to enjoy a wine, warmer vintages should probably be avoided. I often find that as these riper wines age, even if they don’t develop significant complexity, they do become more balanced by showing both less overt fruit and alcohol.

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Generally agree with the new normal, early maturity. Yes, individual producers vary, etc. but everyone wants to generalize anyway.

However, Cannubi (Cannubi, Cannubi. Boschis is a bit different) is one of the most accessible Barolo vineyards there is, so it’s no surprise Bartolo Mascarello shows well young (there’s a good deal of Cannubi in there), and Monprivato doesn’t. For the record, the producers (current regime) compound the issue.

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In 2007, as in 1999, there was no Ca’ d’ Morissio made, so all of the Michet clone juice that might have been Morissio went into the base Monprivato. If anything I’d think that would add to the longevity of this wine.

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??

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I opened the 99 last night. It was tremendous. Really pronounced cherry notes and unquestionably truffle on the nose. Tannins started to mellow a bit. Great finish. Good time to check in.

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Interestingly, 1999 was the first time I had that experience of how weirdly simple too-young Monprivato tastes. Now that it’s a $250 wine, I feel extra stupid that I wasted one young.

But sometimes that’s you learn, by making mistakes.

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Bartolo Mascarello is generally more approachable young (since MT took over), compared to G Mascarello.

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Can’t say I am particularly surprised in view of the characteristics of the vintage. I think Gregory dal Piaz is spot on in his description here:

http://www.snooth.com/articles/2007-barolo/

While I have a few 2007 B&B in my cellar, I haven’t come across any that I find altogether convincing. I also doubt the aging prospects of the vintage.