Giuseppe Mascarello Dolcetto d’Alba ‘Vigna Santa Stefano di Perno’ 2021

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

About Giuseppe Mascarello

I’ve had the great pleasure of devouring many bottles of Giuseppe Mascarello’s Monprivato. This was the very first Barolo that had me convinced Nebbiolo could play with the great Pinots of Burgundy with its ability to entrance. A profound wine from one of the greatest vineyards of Barolo. Pure, intoxicating, perfumes lift from the glass. The sophistication and length of Castiglione Falletto tannins amplified, yet incredibly graceful and impeccably layered.  Mascarello’s Monprivato is one of those wines that can silence the loudest of rooms and invite you into the glass! Every lover of Nebbiolo should have it pass their lips at least once in their life!

The estate of Giuseppe Mascarello e Figlio has a long and illustrious history in Piemonte, and is unequivocally one of the greatest Barolo producers. This traditionally-styled winery is now run by Mauro Mascarello, who is the fourth generation of the family to head the domaine, along with his daughter, Elena. The estate’s origins date back to the mid-1800s, when Giuseppe Mascarello made a name for himself managing the vineyards of other landowners, and which ultimately culminated in the purchase of his own vineyards and cellars in 1881 in the village of Monforte d’Alba. His son Maurizio Mascarello purchased his own farm and parcel in the great Monprivato vineyard in the neighboring village of Castiglione Falletto in 1904 and moved the family business to this location. Since that day the name of Mascarello and the fabled vineyard of Monprivato have been inextricably linked. In 1921 Maurizio purchased an old, beautiful 18th century building in the nearby village of Monchiero that had been one of the architectural landmarks in Piemonte, and moved the family business there; it remains there to this day. When Maurizio passed away in 1923, his two sons, Giuseppe and Natale took over the running of the domaine.

The two brothers eventually parted company (splitting up the vineyards), with Giuseppe continuing to gain renown for the superb quality of his Barolo, as well as his Barbera and Dolcetto. Demand for Giuseppe’s wines continued to increase and he expanded his purchase of grapes from some of the best local growers (a practice started by his father) to meet his needs. In the late 1950s he found the need to replace his old casks in the cellar with new Slavonian oak barrels, which continue to be used to this day. Giuseppe’s son Mauro Mascarello worked alongside his father for many years, before taking over the main responsibilities for running the family domaine in 1967. In 1979, upon the passing of his uncle Natale, Mauro re-purchased his vineyards and reunited the original Mascarello property. Throughout the tenure of Maurizio and Mauro Mascarello, the fame of the Monprivato vineyard continued to climb, and today it is universally recognized as one of the greatest vineyards in all of Barolo (it would be a grand cru on par with a Chambertin or a Richebourg if this were Burgundy), with the name of Mascarello always tied to the greatest expressions of Monprivato.

The six hectare Monprivato vineyard is beautifully situated facing southwest, in the town of Castiglione Falletto. The Mascarellos now own nearly all of Monprivato (having purchased small plots from a couple of neighbors in the period between 1985 and 1990), apart from a small parcel on the lower part fo the hill owned by Giovanni Sordo. Not only is the Mascarello Monprivato renowned for its great terroir, but much of it is also planted to one of the finest strains of Nebbiolo, the Michét variety, which was first introduced into the vineyard by Maurizio Mascarello in 1921. Subsequent substantial replanting with Michét were also undertaken by the family in 1963. The soils of Monprivato, coupled with the haunting refinement found in Nebbiolo Michét, produce one of the most compellingly complex and elegant interpretations of Barolo to be found. With bottle age Monprivato produces a beautiful, red fruity, truffley and soil-driven Barolo, redolent also of autumnal notes and roses. For four generations the winemaking style of the Mascarellos has followed a traditional approach that allows for the brilliant underlying terroir of all of their wines, and Monprivato in particular, to take center stage.

Mauro Mascarello is often described as “an enlightened traditionalist” when it comes to his winemaking approach. Now assisted ably by his son Giuseppe, there are no new French oak barrels or roto-fermenters to be found in the Mascarellos’ cellars, as the wines continue to be made in the old Slavonian oak botti (very large casks) purchased by his father in the 1950s. The Barolos (there are now a handful of different vineyard-designated bottlings) are macerated for about thirty days during fermentation (down from sixty days back in the old days), raised for approximately three and a half years in old wood, and then bottled unfined and unfiltered. Unerringly they are always amongst the finest examples of their respective vintages, which blossom after six to ten years of bottle age and evolve brilliantly over the ensuing twenty-five to forty years. Besides the flagship Monprivato, there are now a Mascarello Barolo “Villero” (another superb vineyard in Castiglione Falletto, of which the Mascarellos own just over half a hectare and began bottling this in 1978) and a Barolo “Perno” (a well-situated vineyard that was only replanted in the late ‘70s and 1980s after years of not being in production- the Mascarellos have about two-thirds of a hectare here).

The Perno vineyard, formerly known as Santo Stefano di Perno, is also one the sources for the superlative bottlings of both Dolcetto and Barbera from the family. The Mascarellos also adhere to the traditional approach of declassifying some of their Barolo on occasion, and for this reason their Langhe Nebbiolo bottlings can offer stunning value. The fine Mascarello lineup is rounded out with a bit of Freisa (a traditional Piemonte variety that produces a lovely, complex and medium-full wine that drinks well in its youth and has the ability to age gracefully for up to a decade). The Mascarello lineup was finally rounded out with the first release of the Riserva bottling of “Cà d’Morissio” in 1993. All the Cà d’Morissio Riserva is made from a tiny parcel of Nebbiolo Michét in Monprivato planted in the mid-‘80s after being specially selected from the original 1921 plantings. It is named for Mauro Mascarello’s grandfather, Maurizio (Morissio in Piemontese dialect) who was the first generation to purchase a plot in Monprivato. This exceedingly rare bottling is a profound Barolo Riserva. All in all, there are very few great names in Piemonte that can match the breathtaking quality of the wines of Giuseppe Mascarello e Figlio, and none that can surpass this fine old estate for commitment to excellence up and down their quality hierarchy. The domaine of Giuseppe Mascarello is simply one of the greatest wine producers in the world.

In the Vineyard

The Mauro Mascarello family Monprivato vineyard is located in the village of Castiglione Falletto, and is a classic prime medium-hillside site stretching over six hectares (15 acres) at 280 metres above sea level, in the heart of the Barolo wine-growing area. It is historic vineyard, as is confirmed by old land registry archives dating back to 1666.

Renato Ratti, the great scholar of the history of the Langa around Alba, listed it in 1985 amongst the eleven first category historic vineyards in the Barolo wine-growing area.

The Monprivato vineyard lies on soil originating from the Helvetian era of the Miocene epoch in the Tertiary period. it is composed of clayey-silty marl, with good structure, a high content of active limestone, and a well-proportioned supply of micro-elements. Together with the vineyard’s south-westerly exposure at midday, these elements provide the Barolo wine with excellent body, a subtle bouquet, delicate tar, a lingering aftertaste, an unmistakable clear elegance, and the ability to evolve in a very positive way over time whilst maintaining extraordinary youth and freshness.

The Mascarello family has always dedicated real passion and love to Monprivato , tending to it with the utmost attention throughout its production lifecycle.

The Monprivato cru is only bottled – with a numbered label – in outstanding and excellent vintages. Any vintages which are not adjudged to be up to this extremely high quality standard become part of the normal Barolo, while others are sold as Nebbiolo Langhe.

LOCATION: CASTIGLIONE FALLETTO, at the centre of the Barolo wine-growing area.
PROPERTY: in the MASCARELLO family since 1904
AREA: 6.13.12 Ha
ALTITUDE: 280 m above sea level
FACING: SOUTH-WEST
SOIL: silty, calcareous, packed with active limestone, composed of blue-grey marl of marine formation from the Helvetian era of the Miocene epoch, Tertiary period
CONFORMATION: as there are no surrounding obstacles, it is blessed by the sun’s rays all day long
SUBDIVISIONS: Cascina Mascarello (Cà d’Morissio in the Piedmontese dialect) Cascina Mirasole
VINES PLANTED: NEBBIOLO throughout, planted at various times from the ’60s thru to 1996
SPECIAL NOTES: this is a historic vineyard, as is documented by land registry archives dating back to 1666, and it was listed by the celebrated wine-maker Renato Ratti as one of the eleven top class historic vineyards in the Barolo wine-growing area.

The “Ca’ d’Morissio” Project

The “Ca’ d’Morissio” Project seeks to elevate the best vine materials, working to create the best possible soil conditions in special sub-parcels of the Monprivato Cru to produce Giuseppe Mascarello’s Riserva. There is simply no way to do this justice in a few words.

Head to Mascarello’s website to explore the full story of the “Ca’ d’Morissio” Project

In the Winery

Grape-variety: Nebbiolo
Vineyard: Monprivato®, in the village of Castiglione Falletto (CN)
Grape Harvest: Towards the middle of October.
Wine-making process: Estate-grown bunches thinned during the summer undergo traditional-style, floating cap fermentation for 20/25 days. The wine is then matured in medium-sized Slavonian oak barrels for around 30 months.
Expected cellar life: 15/25 years
Bottling: After six years following the vintage
Tasting notes:
Colour: garnet red with orange-coloured highlights;
Nose: complex, very fruity, elegant, intense, spicy, with flowery touches;
Taste: excellent body with power and stuffing, demanding, masculine, long, full.

Where in the World is Giuseppe Mascarello?

Giuseppe Mascarello is based in Castiglione Falletto, Barolo, Piedmont, Italy. This wine comes from the Monprivato Cru in Castiglione Falletto.