Vinous (95)

Dark, youthful purple. Powerful, smoke- and mineral-accented aromas of ripe dark berries, licorice, olive and a hint of incense on the deeply perfumed nose. Juicy and sharply delineated in the mouth, offering concentrated, spice-laced blackberry, bitter cherry and fruitcake flavors that take on a smoky aspect as the wine opens up. In an ample but lively style, finishing juicy and extremely long, with building tannins adding framework and youthful grip.

The Wine Independent (100)

The 2018 Ausone is deep garnet purple in color. There is oak to begin, giving way to a great core of baked black plums, chocolate-covered cherries, licorice, and incense, plus Indian spices and violets. Full-bodied, it is rich, concentrated, and decadent in the mouth, with a fantastic backbone of freshness and velvety tannins, finishing very long and layered.

The Wine Independent (99)

The 2019 Ausone is a blend of 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it bursts with uber-fragrant notes of liquid violets, licorice, exotic spices, and roses with a core of black cherries, plum preserves, black soil, and sassafras. Full-bodied, it is super concentrated with a razor backbone of refreshing acidity and very pixilated tannins, finishing with incredible depth and minerality. This wine dances!

Vinous (94)

The 2017 Barolo Margheria is gorgeous. Open, perfumed aromatics are immediately alluring. On the palate, the 2017 is a dark, mysterious wine, with layers of flavor that continue to develop over time. Dark cherry, blood orange, spice, leather, iron and scorched earth add striking layers of nuance. The tannins are potent - we are in Serralunga after all - but the 2017 has so much to offer. It's a gorgeous Barolo to enjoy over the next two decades, maybe more.

Vinous (94)

The 2017 Barolo San Rocco is powerful and tightly wound. All of its energy is focused inward today. There is terrific brightness and focus to the red berry fruit, but the 2017 is not in a mood to show much today. Readers will have to be patient. I am encourage by the wine's solid feel and pure power.

Boasting extraordinary craftsmanship, Azienda Agricola Bricco Ernesto Vino Rosso 2020 is a masterful representation of Italian winemaking tradition. Hailing from the prestigious regions of Barbera and Dolcetto, this exceptional red wine embodies a meticulous blend of elegance and character. The reputable producer, Bricco Ernesto, employs traditional methods, maintaining low yields, and manual harvests to ensure optimal fruit quality.

Using carefully selected grapes grown on steep marly-calcareous soils, the Vino Rosso 2020 breathes life into the glass, capturing the essence of its striking Piedmontese terroir. This splendid wine is aged for a year in French oak barrels to acquire its full-bodied complexity and smooth, velvety finish.

Each sip offers a harmonious motley of dark berry fruits, hints of spice, and subtle undertones of earthy chocolate, creating a prolonged aromatic persistence that invites slow savouring of the Azienda Agricola Bricco Ernesto Vino Rosso 2020. A significant contender in the world of fine wine, leaving an indelible impression on the palate.

Produced in the Burgundy region of France, by the reputable Ballot Millot winery, the Ballot Millot Meursault-Genevrieres 1er Cru 2016 is an absolute classic. The winemakers are known for their meticulous eco-friendly approaches, and the 2016 vintage is no exception. Grown in the exclusive Meursault-Genevrieres vineyard, the Chardonnay grapes perfectly express their unique terroir in this premier cru.

This wine is elegantly built with a vivacious minerality and a structured, complex palate. It strikes the discerning wine-enthusiast with a melange of tropical fruit and floral notes on the nose, layered with nuances of honey and spice. It is a fine choice for anyone seeking a rich and inviting white Burgundy.

Carefully aged in French oak barrels, the Ballot Millot Meursault-Genevrieres 1er Cru 2016 achieves a harmonious balance of fruit and oak. With a long, tantalizing finish, it is the epitome of an exquisite French Chardonnay.

Jancis Robinson (17+)

Chiavennasca and 5–6% Rossola. (The DOC regulations stipulate at least 90% Chiavennasca (Nebbiolo).) Vineyard planted in the 1930s. Concentrated mid ruby. Perfumed, deep and concentrated nose, with a hint of savoury spice. Well-stitched, more rounded and a little less edgy than the Sol, but with impressive juicy, fluid red fruit and long, finely chiselled tannins. Very long, elegant and supple. (WS)

Jancis Robinson (17+)

Field blend of Chiavennasca (Nebbiolo), Rossola, Pignola, Brugnola and Negrera, all rare local varieties. Fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeast without added SO2 (which is added only at bottling). Total of 20 days on the skins. Part of the wine was aged on the fine lees in stainless steel and part in concrete. ‘We macerate for a shorter time in warm years, but longer in cooler years to get softer tannins. In warmer years there is just no need and with longer maceration in warm years you lose freshness.’ Cask sample 1: Youthful mid ruby. Pure and focused red-fruit nose with a little lift and a hint of raw meat. Succulent and a little vibrant on the attack. Savoury, sappy, red-fruit finish with soft, coating tannins. Refreshing and original. Cask sample 2: Just mid ruby. A little deeper with minerally, earthy notes and hints of iron. Vibrant, lifted raspberry fruit and sandpapery tannins. Truly complementary to cask sample 1. (WS)

Jancis Robinson (17+)

Same winemaking as the regular Valtellina. Cask sample. Lustrous mid ruby. Really pretty perfumed nose with great focus. Concentrated but fine. Succulent, minerally fruit with a saline note on the finish. Fine, long-lasting, clinging tannins. (WS)

James Suckling (96)

A polished and reserved Castello with cherry, orange-peel and chocolate aromas and flavors. Tight and round-tannined, in a very subtle and curated way. The precision in this wine is impressive. Needs time to open. Try after 2025.

James Suckling (99)

This has an intensely perfumed nose of lavender, sandalwood, dried cherries, blueberries, creme de cassis, bay leaves, walnuts and stones. Full-bodied with polished, well-integrated tannins and a layered, silky and concentrated core of spiced and herbed fruit. Long. Intense. Fantastic already, but try in 2024.

The Barons Rothschild Extra Brut NV is an extraordinary sparkling wine, a result of meticulous advocacy for Qualität from major vineyards across the renowned Champagne region of France. This exceptional wine, crafted by the legendary Rothschild family, is both timeless and elegant. Produced with a higher proportion of Chardonnay grapes, boasting from minerality and citrus notes for a lean, yet captivating profile.

The wine undergoes an extended three-year ageing period, a testament to the Rothschilds' unwavering dedication to quality. The Extra Brut style allows the pure and delicate character of the autochthonous yeasts to reveal a fine balance between freshness and complexity. On the palate, expect an abundance of ripe fruit and delicately toasted nuances that yield to a long, austere finish.

Expanding your collection or seeking to toast an occasion with unrivalled class, the Barons Rothschild Extra Brut NV stands as a remarkable exemplar of French wine-making savoir-faire.

Vinous (94)

I admit I have never really found much to admire in the 1988 vintage in Piedmont. Perhaps that is because 1989 and 1990 are both of such high quality, while 1985, 1986 and even at times 1987 are all more distinctive. With that in mind, Mascarello’s 1988 Barolo is a truly enchanting and seductive wine. Absolutely haunting in its beauty, the 1988 offers up a classic bouquet of dried rose petal, tar, anise, orange peel and bright red stone fruit, with the translucent, weightlessness that only Nebbiolo and Pinot Noir can deliver. Crystalline and pure, the 1988 has enough balance to drink well for another decade, even if it doesn’t have the sheer weight of some of the surrounding vintages. The 1988 is striking when it is first opened and it is just as beautiful several hours later. What a wine!

Wine Advocate (95)

The 2005 Barolo is super-delicate and finessed. This is a decidedly restrained, feminine style of Barolo laced with roses, raspberries, jasmine and berries. It will be fascinating to see which direction the 2005 takes from here. At times the wine appears to be putting on additional weight, but it nevertheless retains an element of frailty that is actually quite attractive. I rate the 2005 just behind the 2004, 2006 and 2007, but it is a gorgeous wine, and easily one of the very finest wines of the vintage.

Vinous (100)

From the moment we put together this tasting, I knew the 2010 Barolo had to be in the lineup because of its historical significance. It is arguably the greatest wine ever made here. Although naturally very young, the 2010 is super-expressive and also one of the clear highlights of the evening. All the elements simply fall into place. The interplay of aromatics, fruit and structure is utterly captivating. In many ways, the 2010 represents a culmination of all the work Maria Teresa Mascarello and her team have done over the last two decades to elevate quality. The gentleman to my left tells me I made a mistake in my initial review and score of the 2010. I agree.

Wine Advocate (94)

The 2011 Barolo is a very expressive wine with more determination and muscle than you usually get in the wines of Bartolo Mascarello. The bouquet opens to plush flavors of red fruit and cherry with grilled herb, tobacco and mineral delineation. Its structure is yielding and round and the finish is ripe with soft fruit flavors. Make no mistake, it doles out complexity and an ethereal sense of balsam herb, cola and licorice that is the hallmark of this historic estate with a tiny garage winery in the town of Barolo. The alcohol reading here is 14.5% compared to 14% in the 2010 vintage.

Vinous (95)

We start with the 2012 Barolo from Bartolo Mascarello, which is everything I expect. Perfumed, gracious and utterly sublime, the 2012 is all nuance. It is a real treat to taste and drink after two weeks of tasting embryonic six-month-old Bordeaux. It is also absolutely gorgeous with some of the lighter first courses on the menu. I can see the bewildered faces of my guests, all them native or adopted Bordeaux locals. “How can a wine be so light and yet deliver so much depth and persistence?” That, in a nutshell is what Nebbiolo is all about.

Vinous (98+)

Maria Teresa's 2013 Barolo is a stunning, drop-dead gorgeous beauty. Vibrant, crystalline and exceptionally nuanced, the 2013 speaks to elegance above all else. There is an exotic quality to the aromatics that adds to the wine's total sense of seduction. As captivating as the 2013 is today, there is no shortage of underlying grip and structure. Dark cherry, plum, spice, menthol and licorice are some of the many notes that grace the palate. But the 2013 is a wine of completeness rather than elements. And the 2013 simply has it all. In 2013, Mascarello opted for short-ish fermentation with limited post-fermentation maceration because the skins were a bit fragile. The result is a delicate wine that shows just how finessed young Barolo can be.

Vinous (94+)

Maria Teresa Mascarello's 2014 Barolo has put on a good bit of weight since I first tasted it, yet it remains nervous, tightly wound and compact - which is to say, very much in the style of the year. Time in the glass brings out a host of bright red cherry, pomegranate, mint, leather and orange peel nuances, but only with reluctance. The 2014 is a positively electric Barolo, but it likely won't be ready to charm anytime soon. Readers should plan on cellaring it for at least a handful of years. Sadly, production is down by 40%.

Vinous (97)

The 2015 Barolo is outrageously beautiful. Best of all, it will drink well with minimal cellaring. Rich, sumptuous and super-expressive, the 2015 is such a showy and expressive wine. Bright red cherry, red plum, blood orange, mint, star anise and dried flowers are all given an extra kick of textural richness in this flashy, exceptionally ripe Barolo. I loved it.

Wine Advocate (100)

This is the stuff of dreams. Tasted so young, I did a lot of coaxing to nudge the wine along, thanks to a double decant and a few extra hours in an open bottle. I tasted both samples I had over the course of a few weeks. Those efforts served well, but the wine remains packed tight and full of nervous energy regardless, indicating that its true potential won't be seen for another 10 or 20 years, or likely more. The Bartolo Mascarello 2016 Barolo is a true icon of the vintage. The approach is elongated and silky, like lifting honey from a jar. The aromas are chiseled and focused with wild berry, licorice, candied orange peel, campfire ash, rusted iron, crushed graphite and pencil shaving. The wine's personality is downplayed, elegant and demure in one tasting but exuberant and expressive in the next. The tannins show snap and crunch, indicating they will drive the wine forward over many years of cellar age. This is one of those rare wines that is poised to improve with each increment of time. Structurally, it is perfect. If we were to create a template for an aspirational Barolo, this would be it.

Wine Advocate (96)

Showing a light ruby shine that radiates from the glass, the Bartolo Mascarello 2017 Barolo proves once again that elegance can be achieved, despite the many challenges of an extreme vintage, when worked by the right hands. In this case, the hands are those of Bartolo's daughter, the legendary Maria Teresa Mascarello. This celebrated Barolo boasts a silky sheen and glossy character that transcends bouquet and mouthfeel. Wild cherry, lilac, iron ore and candied orange peel are revealed softly on the bouquet. The wine takes a few minutes to open before all those pretty little details come into view. Acidity is an important component of this graceful Barolo, as it ties together the fruit and heightens that sense of electricity and liveliness. This is a collectors' bottle to keep safely in your cellar.