It is the Barolo 2011 produced by the cellars of Bartolo Mascarello, the best Italian wine of this year. It was decreed by the experts of the Guide "The Italian wines of L'Espresso 2016" assigning it the score of perfection 20/20. Almost unbelievable price at the winery: 60 euros, ("it's the philosophy of our family" says Maria Teresa Mascarello, humanistic studies, "we can't raise the prices") absolutely well spent for a wine that the editors of the Guide, directed by Enzo Vizzari, define "extraordinary".
How extraordinary is the history of this winery founded by Giulio Mascarello in 1918, and then brought to levels of excellence by his son Bartolo with absolute dedication to the winemaking tradition of this corner of Piedmont. And it is still wines from Piedmont that place themselves on the second podium this year: Barbaresco Pajé Vecchie Viti 2010 from Roagna, a wine produced in a very limited edition, in the wine shop at 200 euros, Barolo Riserva Monprivato Cà d'Morissio 2008 from Mascarello Giuseppe & Son, in the wine shop at around 350 euros, Giacomo Conterno's Barolo Riserva Monfortino 2008, in the wine shop at 370 euros, all tied with a vote of 19,5/20.
The Guide I Vini d'Italia de L'Espresso submits every year the national wine production to a systematic selection carried out on over 20000 wines tasted. The highest classification is made up of I Vini dell'Eccellenza, distinct from symbol of the "five bottles", corresponding to a score of at least 18/20. The 2016 Guide has attributed them 223, with a marked decrease compared to last year when it reached 263; a substantial drop, to be linked in part to the difficulties triggered, in many regions, by the problematic 2014 harvest.
With a score of 19/20 on the third podium this year, a group of 13 wines, largely made up of the more classic denominations, climbs up. Brunello di Montalcino represented by Salvioni, Talenti and Stella di Campalto; the Barolo by Bruno Giacosa with the Falletto, by Giuseppe Mascarello with the Monprivato, by Prunotto with the Vigna Colonnello; the Barbaresco from two other Roagna crus. The list of "super excellences" is completed by the surprising white from the Marche region Gli Eremi de La Distesa, the Tuscan Cabernet d'Alceo from Castello dei Rampolla and three sweet wines: Vin Santo 1998 from Castell'in Villa and two Marsala Riserva signed by Cantine Florio and by Marco De Bartoli.
Se Piedmont in general maintains its consolidated potion of record holder with 50 excellent wines, this year Tuscany is approaching with great strides being able to boast 48 productions of excellence.
In third place is Trentino-Alto Adige with 24 wines, followed by Veneto with 12 wines, Sicily with 11, Friuli with 10, Campania and Lombardy with 9 wines each, Marche and Sardinia with 7, Valle d'Aosta, Umbria, Emilia Romagna and Puglia with 6, from AZbruzzo with 5, from Lazio with 3, from Liguria with 2. Bottom line Basilicata and Calabria with 1 wine each.
Overall, the 2016 Guide records a qualitative consolidation of the classic types, both for red and white wines, with particularly good results for the Brunello di Montalcino, thanks to the 2010 vintage, for the Aosta Valley reds, for the Verdicchio.
However, there are many wines and producers at their absolute debut among the elite of Italian wine excellence. Among these are the "bubbles" proposed by the South Tyrolean companies Haderburg and LorenzMartini, the Barbera d'Asti Nizza La Luna and the Bonfires of the Vite Colte winery, the original Umbrian Ciliegiolo Lautizio di Collecapretta, the Sardinian Cannonau di Pusole, the Chianti Classico Vigna Cavarchione di Istine, Canaiolo Numero Otto by Filippo Rocchi and again Sangiovese Romagna Godenza by Noelia Ricci, Vernaccia di San Gimignano Sanice by Letizia Cesani, Riesling Brera by Tenuta Il Bosco.
Finally, with an eye to the portfolio, it is interesting to underline how one third of the wines considered "Excellent" reached this goal for the first time and that about 50 of the 223 winners can be found on the shelves at prices below 15 euros: as if to say that you can drink "big" without emptying your wallet.
In addition to rewarding excellent wines with 5 bottles, the L'Espresso Wine Guide awards a prize,
the stars, from one to three, to companies of greater qualitative importance according to their quality and continuity over the years. In the 2016 edition, 526 were assigned.
The maximum score went to 18 producers spread throughout the national territory. With the new entry Pietracupa, a company from Campania that has been signing for years white wines (Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo) and red wines (Taurasi) of absolute level are confirmed in this list which thus represents for buyers a sure-fire choice of quality and they are: Cisa Asinari, Conterno Giacomo, Giacosa Bruno, Mascarello Giuseppe and Son, Rinaldi Giuseppe, Roagna, Cà del Bosco, Ferrari, Terlano, Quintarelli Giuseppe, Castell'in Villa, Isole e Olena, Montenidoli, Montevertine, Poggio di Sotto, San Guido, Valentini.
Attachments: Wine Guide by Regions.pdf http://firstonline-data.teleborsa.it/news/files/1270.pdf
